


Mystery of the Sea *Yu Kanda Love Story*

by ShadowMistWolf



Category: D. Gray-man, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-06
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-01-18 08:38:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 43,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1421791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowMistWolf/pseuds/ShadowMistWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's the new girl of the Black Order. She's also the girl with a secret, a secret that could potentially rip her life apart, or it could make it better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Head Chief! Head Chief Komui!!" A man with sandy brown hair and wearing a lab coat shook a man with dark purple hair who stubbornly stayed asleep. The man sighed and leaned down close to the man’s ear.  
        "Lenalee is getting married." The man shot up, anime tears streaming down him face.  
        "Lenalee!! How could you get married without telling your dearest older brother!?!?" The man sighed in exasperation.  
        “Calm down Head Chief, she’s not getting married. But there is someone here, at the front gates, a girl.” Komui stopped crying and followed the man to the monitor room. He found that there was indeed a girl standing outside the front gate dresses in rather strange [apparel](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=111660299) for how cold it was outside. He spoke into a microphone that let the girl hear him.  
        “Who are you and what are you doing here?” The girl said nothing at first but held up a white envelope.  
        “Name’s Aqua Merida. Disciple of General Socalo, I’m here to see some guy called Komui.” She adjusted the black bow holding her hair up but otherwise didn’t waver in any way.  
        “Please take a physical examination from the gate keeper.” The face on the gate popped forward but Aqua didn’t so much as flinch as the gatekeeper examined her. When it gave the all clear the gates opened and the girl stepped in, greeted immediately by Lenalee, Komui’s younger sister.  
        “Hello! My name’s Lenalee. Please, come in and I’ll take you to Komui.”  
        “Thanks.” She spoke slowly, eyeing the smiling girl warily. Lenalee lead the new girl straight to Komui’s office and walked carefully through the piles of paper littering the floor. Komui himself sat behind his desk, also smiling.  
        “Good evening Ms. Merida. I’m Komui Lee.”  
        “Hello. I was told to give you this.” She handed him the envelope which he promptly opened and read the content of. He put the paper down and smiled at Aqua.  
        “It seems that you’ll be staying here from now on. I’ll have a room prepared for you immediately as well as a uniform, then I’ll examine your innocence, take you to see Hevlaska, then Lenalee can give you a tour. Sound good?” She nodded but otherwise said nothing.  
        “Alrighty then, come with me please.” He led the girl to the main elevator where they descended down into the lower levels that house Hevlaska and the innocence. They stopped and he led her to a side room. She sat on the table as directed by Komui.  
        “Could you please activate your innocence for me?” She nodded and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they had turned an icy blue/purple and ice had engulfed bother her hands, turning them to [claws](http://rosariovampire.wikia.com/wiki/Rosario_%2B_Vampire_Capu2_Episode_01?file=Ice_Claws.gif) (Just her hands and eyes). Komui examine the ice closely for a while, occasionally jotting down notes.  
        “Anything else?” She nodded and waved her left hand. The ice melted and formed hundreds of small [water butterflies](http://www.123rf.com/photo_13536557_water-splash-butterfly.html). They fluttered around the two before returning to Aqua’s hand, once again forming a claw.  
        “Interesting. All right, let’s go see Hevlaska!” Aqua stood up and followed the much too energetic man out of the room and down a few more levels. What looked to Aqua like a massive white dragon with a woman’s face soon came into view. She got off the platform stood looking up at who she assumed was Hevlaska. Nothing was said as a white tentacle like appendage wrapped around the girls waist and hoisted her into the air. Hevlaska’s forehead touched Aqua’s and she began mumbling numbers.  
        “15%... 45%... 67%...84%... 99%...Maximum synchronization rate is 99%.” Aqua was placed on her feet once again as Komui cheered.  
        “99%! That’s one of the highest we’ve ever had! Congratulations Aqua!” She glanced back at Komui but didn’t say anything, instead she continued looking up at Hevlaska.  
        “Something wrong Aqua?”  
        “No.” She turned and walked back towards the elevator, quickly followed by Komui. They ascended the levels and got off at the one they had started from, Lenalee was there waiting for them.  
        “So, how did it go?” She inquired curiously.  
        “Aqua here has a synchronization rate of 99%!!”  
        “Wow! Nice job Aqua! General Socalo must have trained you well.” She simply nodded and began walking off in a random direction.  
        “Hold on! You don’t know where you’re going!!” Aqua stopped and glanced back at her.  
        “I’ll figure this place out myself if you don’t mind. Having people around can be extremely irritating.” The comment caught Lenalee off guard and she stopped in her tracks.  
        “Oh. A-alright then. Just ask someone for help if you get lost. I’ll find you later when your room’s been set up.” Aqua nodded and set out down the hall, quickly vanishing out of view of the siblings as she rounded a corner.  
        After about an hour of walking around, Aqua found where just about everything was, from the cafeteria, to the science division, the rooms, and the medical wing.  
        She was walking around the upper level, staring down at the bottom of the tower; she stopped and sat on top of the railing, starring up at the ceiling high far above her. Someone cleared their throat behind her and she turned slowly to face a boy, a little younger than herself, with white hair, grey eyes, and a strange pentacle shaped scar.  
        “Um, it’s not safe to sit on the rail like that, Miss.” He smiled and she starred at him.  
        “Does it matter? If I fall I could simply catch myself on a lower level. Or I could just let myself fall. Who would care? You don’t know me; know who I am or what I’ve done. So why give me pointless advice?” He looked a little taken back by her response but smiled with a serious look in his eyes.  
        “It does matter. I’m sure that there’s someone somewhere that cares. You’re right, I don’t know anything about you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care. You’re new to the order I’m guessing, so you don’t have many friends yet, so why don’t you give it a few weeks before trying to jump again. I can guarantee that someone will stop you then.” Now it was her turn to be taken back, no one had said anything like that to her before.  
        She hopped off the rail and stood in front of him, smiling.  
        “No one’s ever said that before. My name’s Aqua Merida. And you’re right, I am new here.”  
        “I’m Allen Walker, nice to meet you Aqua.” They shook hands and walked towards the cafeteria, talking about random things. At one point she even showed his the butterflies and had them dance around them before disappearing into thin air.  
        Allen had been absolutely fascinated by the flittering forms of water and was even more surprised when she froze one of them and handed it to him.  
        “The ice won’t melt all long as I’m alive. And it can bring you to me if you ask it to. For now though I must go, Lenalee is looking for me.” She left a very confused looking Allen alone in the hall and turned around headed back towards where she had been sitting before. This time though she simply leaned over the rail and called out to the flustered girl half a dozen levels opposite and below her. When Lenalee looked up and saw her, her face showed relief. She turned to go towards the stairs but was stopped by Aqua.  
        “Stay there Lenalee. I’ll come to you.” She planted a foot on the rail, pushed off and launched herself into the air before Lenalee could utter a single word. Aqua soared through the air like a bird, crossing a quarter of the gap between the railings before she had fallen more than two levels. When she was just above Lenalee, she reached forward and grabbed the rail, halting her descent, before flip over it onto her feet.  
        “That was amazing and all but please, don’t _ever_ do that again!!” She older girl gigged and glanced behind her, meeting the eyes of the only other person who saw her jump. A guy about her age, with long dark blue hair and a katana at his side. He looked away and so did she, both continued on their way. Unaware of their forever intertwined fates.


	2. Sparing with Kanda

*In the cafeteria*  
“Aqua these are Allen, Lavi, and Kanda. Everyone, this is Aqua Merida, a new exorcist.” Lenalee stood in front of a table with Aqua by her side staring at the boy she had noticed earlier. Her gaze shifted to Allen and then Lavi. She smiled at Allen but socked Lavi in the face when he jumped towards her.  
“Nice to meet you.” She bowed and stood straight again. Surprisingly, Kanda nodded back before turning away. Allen smiled at her after giving Kanda a surprised look.  
“Hello again, Aqua.”  
“Allen.” Lenalee took a seat on Kanda’s side of the table and Aqua sat beside Allen, leaving space for the boy face down on the floor. The red head, Lavi, shot up and sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She glanced between him and his arm before smiling.  
“Remove your arm from my shoulders or I’ll remove it from your body. You’re choice.” He arm snapped back to his side when she gave of an almost tangible wave of murderous intent.  
“Glad we got that sorted out. Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I need to go do something.” She stood promptly and left the group to their conversations while Lavi just gushed about how cute she was until Kanda stood and whacked him on the head before leaving with a look of pure irritation.

*Kanda’s P.O.V*  
I stalked out of the cafeteria, that d@mned Baka Usagi wouldn’t shut up about the new girl, Aqua. Even I had to admit that she looked pretty but her attitude reminded me of myself.  
As I walked back to my room, my thoughts wandered to when I watched her jumped to the opposite side of the tower. Not only had she actually cleared it but she jumped without a hint of hesitation. I wonder who taught her, it couldn’t have been Cross or Tiedoll, so that left Socalo and Claudnine. I could imagine Socalo teaching a girl how to do something like that but I would have to ask if I really wanted to know, which I really didn’t.  
I was broken out of my thoughts when I bumped into someone rounding a corner, knocking the other person to the floor.  
“Ow. Sorry, didn’t watch where I was going.” I looked down and saw that it was Aqua. Sighing lightly I stretched out my hand, which she grasped without hesitation, and I pulled her to her feet.  
“Tch. Watch where you’re going new time.” She smirked slightly.  
“Yes, because I can use my innocent to look around corners. Great idea.” The sarcasm in her voice was clear and it was starting to become irritating, just like everything else.  
“I don’t have time for your sarcasm, newbie. Stay out of my way.” I pushed past her, continuing on my way without looking back.

*Aqua’s P.O.V*  
I watched Kanda walk away from my as irritation welled up inside me. At that moment I decided that I would beat his sorry @ss the first chance I got. I’ll show him what happens when someone besides Master or a higher up tell me what to do. I scowled darkly before continuing on my way, stalking down the halls and watching frost form on the smooth surface as my innocence reacted to my frustration and anger.  
"Aqua!" I turned with a harsh glare to see Lavi flinch at the look in my eyes.  
"H-hey?" I turned to face him fully and he shrunk back some.  
"What?" I growled slightly.  
"Lenalee is looking for you?" He spoke slowly, as if I would pounce on him if he said anything that I disapproved of.  
"Where is she then?"  
"T-the science division, Komui's office." I nodded curtly and walked past him, the patched of ice that covered the walls disappeared slowly as I made my way to the science division. I walked through the doors calmly and spotted Lenalee across the room. She saw me as I entered and jugged over.  
“There you are! Your room is ready and Jonny wants to know what you want your uniform to look like.”  
“A pair of pants, boots, strap-on sleeves, and a sleeveless jacket would work perfectly for me.” A man closely perked up and dashed to a different side of the room. Lenalee saw me looking and smiled.  
“That was Jonny; he’s the one who makes the uniforms for us.”  
“Interesting. So, you said my room was ready?”  
“Yeah! Follow me.” We walked for a while before stopping outside a simple wood door.  
“Here we are! Your uniform should be ready tomorrow; I’ll let you know when it’s finished.”  
“Thank you, Lenalee. Good night, I’ll see you in the morning.”  
“Good night!” She walked away as I closed the door. The room was simple, a bed in one corner, a dresser and closet in the other, a desk against one wall, and another door with a bathroom. The trunk I had come here with was sitting on the bed so I opened it to find a set of night clothes. I sat on the bed and pulled out my sketch pad, drawing random things. I zoned out for a while and found myself drawing Kanda leaning against a pillar. I through my pad against the wall and set the rest of my things where they belonged before finally going to sleep.

*Next Morning*  
I woke early, just like I was used to, and changed into clothes that I found comfortable for training in. I glanced at the crosses imbedded into the palms of my hands before heading to the training room. I was alone when I entered and stretched out before activation my innocence and focused on doing a max invocation. The temperature in the room dropped quickly and my breath came out in clouds of vapor as my energy slowly drained. I felt the ice on my hands slowly creep up my forearms, almost covering them entirely, and with each second it seemed to get harder.  
By the time the ice covered my shoulders my breath was coming in gasps and the floor surrounding me was covered by a thin layer of frost and ice. But I still pushed harder, pushed the fatigue away and focused on moving the ice farther, until it reached my neck. That was when I was taken by a wave of dizziness and the ice shattered and I collapsed onto my hands and knees, still breathing heavily. I sat back on my ankles and lifted my head, eyes closed.  
Something cold touched my shoulder and I opened one eye slightly to see Kanda with a bottled of water, which I took gratefully. I gulped down a mouthful and handed it back to him.  
“What time is it?” I asked.  
“Just after 6.” I nodded and stood up slowly. Careful of any more waves of dizziness that threatened to send me to my knees again. I sat down with my back against the wall for a few minutes before standing again, feeling much better. I made my way over to the weapons rack and let my hand graze each one before stopping on a katana.  
I lifted the weapon from the rack and unsheathed it, swinging it a few times to get the gist of how it would handle.  
“Do you know how to handle that?”  
“Indeed I do. Surprised?” I turned to face the blue haired boy, sword by my side. He smirked and swung with his own katana and I brought mine up to block. I swung at him this time, matching his initial speed, but he successfully blocked. We danced back and forth with our blows, catching the occasional piece of cloth but never skin. We both eventually stopped and agreed on a draw. For now at least.


	3. First Mission

After the quick but tiring spar with Kanda, I headed back to my room for a shower and a new outfit. With that I headed to the cafeteria to find something to eat. I stood at a window and listened to a very strange man gush about meeting me before asking what I wanted then gushed some more about how I ate almost as much as Allen did. I knew parasitic types natural ate more than regular people on account of needing more calories to burn on a daily basis.  
I sat down and ate my meal within just a few minutes before leaving again. As I walked down the hall I was stopped by a somewhat familiar man in a lab coat. Then it hit me; he was the person that made the uniforms, Jonny, it I remembered correctly.  
“Hey! I have your uniform all ready for you! I just need you to try it on so I can make any adjustments.” I nodded and followed him to the science division. On the desk he stopped by there was a black uniform, exactly as I had asked (pic with the normal uniform boots). I left to another room and changed into it, it fit perfectly, and I smiled.  
“You’re good at making these, it fits perfectly!”  
“Thanks! I’m glad you like it. By the way, I think Komui has a mission ready for you. So when you drop your stuff off at your room I would pack some stuff before going to see him.”  
“Thanks, I’ll do that. And thank you for the uniform!” I dashed out of the science division and down the halls toward my room.   
I reached my room and packed a small case of essentials before heading back to the science division. I knocked on Komui’s door and entered, surprised to find Kanda standing there as well.  
“Ah, Aqua. I see Johnny remembered to tell you that I had a mission for you. I know that you just got here so I’ll be sending you with Kanda to San Cibrao, Spain, to deal the increasing number of akuma. With think that there is a possibility that innocence is there, but we aren’t certain. Anyway~ you’ll be taking a train there shortly, so I would head out now. Good luck~!” I tuned and left the room, Kanda right behind me. I was going to head toward the door I had entered while Kanda grabbed the back of my color and dragged me down a different hall.  
“Hey! Let me go, will ya!!” He released my jacket and I stumbled before regaining my footing. I shot him a glare but he was already continuing down the hall. I released an irritated sigh before heading after him. He stopped in front of an elevator thing that I hadn’t seen before and we headed down in it, reaching a cave at the bottom with a gondola waiting with a Finder to take us to the mainland where we then hitched a ride on a train to the north-west region of Spain.  
San Cibrao was a coastal city on the smaller side. But it was supposedly a beautiful city with an amazing view of the sea. I had to admit that I was excited for this; it was my very first mission as a true exorcist. Not only that, but I loved the sea! So when we finally reached the city I was off like a bullet and hopping on the tallest thing, which happened to be the top of a cathedral cross. I leaned against the top portion of the cross as the sight before me took my breath away. The sea was sparkling in the remaining light of the sunset which cast a range of colors on the few clouds that dotted the sky.   
“Hey!!” I looked down and spotted Kanda on the ground far below me, gesturing for me to come down. I complied, jumping down at the ground and landing gracefully.  
“Let’s find am inn to stay at.”  
“Sounds fine to me.” We didn’t have to walk far to find a decent play to spend the night and before we knew it we were both in separate rooms ready to sleep. I folded my coat over the backside of a nearby chair before grabbing my nightclothes and taking a quick shower, after which I climbed under the covered of the bed and fell asleep.

***

Black…that’s all I can see…I was floating in the darkness. I can’t feel anything. Why can’t I open my eyes? Why can’t I move my arms? Why can’t I escape??  
‘Because this is what you wish for. Deep down, you don’t want to see the light.’ That isn’t true…the light is what I want most.  
‘Remember the last time you went to the light? That boy sent you deeper into the darkness. And this one will do the same!’ I don’t know Kanda…we just met…  
‘What will he do when he finds out our secret?!’ I have no idea…

***

I awoke with a start. The dream felt short but when I glanced out the window at the rising sun I knew that it had been much, much longer. I dresses in my uniform quickly and was about to pull my hair back into its usual high ponytail, when an explosion echoed off the walls and shook the entire building. Forgetting my hair ribbon, I dashed to the window and yanked it open, eyes scanning around to find a plume of smoke rising from a building as well as a dark, round shaped thing that I could easily identify as an akuma.  
I jumped to a nearby roof and dashed toward the akuma, activating my innocence as I got closer. My claws stretched and as I jumped, and with a single swipe the akuma was nothing but smoke and ash. Before I knew it, more had surrounded me, all of them level 1. I smirked confidently and swung my left arm lightly, releasing dozens of water butterflies into the air. I swished my left index finger in a circle and immediately all of them began to swirl around me. With one fluid motion I spread my fingers out and held my left hand out in front of me, watching as all the butterflies shoot out in every direction, punching through all of the akuma and destroying them.  
But I couldn’t relax just yet. I lunged to one side as something flew past me, something sharp catching my shoulder, tearing through fabric and flesh alike. I winced as one of my butterflies landed on the wound and froze over, stopping the bleeding, the poison, and numbing the pain at the same time. Whatever it was streaked past me again, creating yet another cut, this time on my right upper thigh, which was frozen once again. I turned quickly at the sound of a low growl and stared at the level 2 akuma. Its base appearance was that of a large cat, but it had much larger claws. My butterflies reformed into my left claw as it spoke.  
“Nice job avoiding those hits, but it won’t matter. You’ll die anyway!”  
“Not today, akuma!” We both lunged forward at the same time, locking claws with one another. It reached forward, ready to clamp its jaws around my neck before I swiftly threw up my foot. Its head snapped back and the rest of its body followed. As I went forward to piece its chest, a clawed paw was thrown out, catching me in the jaw and sending me flying into a nearby building. I struggled to remove myself from the ruble, a rather large pile of stone had pinned my legs to the floor. I looked up to see the akuma pouncing with such a great amount of speed that I knew I couldn’t hope to block the attack in time. My eyes closed as I waited for its large claws to tear me apart, but instead, I heard the sound of metal clashing with metal and looked up.  
Kanda stood in front of me, his katana locked against the akuma’s deadly claws as they both tried to push the other back and create an opening to attack. Kanda finally won, pushing the akuma back before slashing his blade across the cat’s front. A moment later it exploded, and Kanda turned towards me.  
“Were you trying to die?” I growled at his remark.  
“I would have been just fine if not for all the crap on top of me! Now, are you going to help me get out of this or are you just going to stand there like an @ss?!” His only reply was an evil looking smirk before he turned around and began walking away.  
“I growled under my breath again and attempted to shift my legs out from under the piles of rocks. I yelped as pain coursed through my left leg and stopped. I heard a deep sigh and saw Kanda headed back toward me. I shifted as much of the ruble as I could with Kanda moving most off it and a few minutes later my legs were free of their stone prison. I attempted to move my leg again only to clench my jaw as another wave of pain washed over me. I walked with mild curiosity as Kanda carefully felt my leg over, occasionally causing me to have to endure even more pain.  
“It’s broken.” I scowled at him.  
“No sh$t.”  
“Watch it.” The warning in his tone made me flinch slightly and I looked away before trying to get up. I was about to anyway, but then I felt to arms lift me into the air, one under my knees and the other around my back, bridal style. I yelped in surprise and my arms instinctively wrapped around Kanda’s neck so I wouldn’t fall.  
“What gives?!” I protested, angry and embarrassed.  
“Well you obviously can’t walk on it, and this is the fastest way to get you to the hospital for treatment.” I said nothing but looked away, a light blush covering my cheeks as he carried me out of the ruined building.


	4. Saving a Life

I sat amongst the white sheets of the bed, my uniform replaced by a white shirt and short shorts. My leg had been wrapped and set as soon as I had finished changing and Kanda had left shortly after that, saying that he was going to look for more akuma. And that left me in this stupid hospital with absolutely nothing to do!  
I wiggled slightly, thankful that the pain in my leg had faded, and let out a sigh. Boredom and I didn’t get along well. So I settled for sleeping instead. Which, surprisingly, came easily to me, and I was asleep within a few minutes.

*3rd Person P.O.V.*  
Kanda returned to check up on Aqua a little after noon and found her asleep. His gaze swept over the sleeping girl and he came to the conclusion that the color white didn’t suit her at all. The green glow coming from her wrists drew his attention; he hadn’t noticed the crosses there.  
He took a seat on the chair beside her bed, placing his sword, Mugen, by his side. Komui was right when he said that this city was full of akuma, and some of them had evolved into level two, like the cat that had almost killed Aqua.  
With all the thoughts running through his head, Kanda didn’t realize he had fallen asleep.  
***  
*Later that night*  
Aqua shifted uncomfortably in the bed, she had woken up and had found it impossible to fall back into the embrace of a dreamless sleep. She looked over at Kanda, who was still asleep in the chair only a few feet from her bed. She got up off the bed as carefully and quietly as she could, hoping that her partner wouldn’t wake to find her sneaking off. Thankfully, the samurai didn’t stir in the slightest, and Aqua made her way over to the window and opened it just enough for her to climb out, wincing at the small sparks of pain in her leg.  
After that, she made her way toward the nearby shore line. Unknown to her, Kanda had been awake long before she had, and was now silently following her. He watched as she waded out into the water, a relieved expression covering her face as the water washed over her bare feet. Her stride steadied as the water washed up to her waist before she lunged forward into the water, swimming out toward a large rock about 30 meters from where she had been standing. Hoisting herself onto the rock, Aqua stared up at the stars with her legs still submerged.  
Kanda watched in mild confusion until something stirred behind him. His eyes widened as he whipped around, preparing to draw Mugen from its sheath but it was too late. The akuma slashed him across the chest, sending him flying backwards onto the sand. Aqua turned toward the sound and invoked her innocence when she saw the akuma, sending half frozen butterflies at max speed toward the akuma. It dodged some, but was punctured multiple times. However, it was still alive.  
“Looks like I got myself a couple exorcists. Or rather, one now, seeing as your partner is as good as dead!” The akuma lifted an unconscious Kanda into the air before throwing him out into the deeper waters. Aqua watched with growing dread but lunged forward as soon as Kanda’s body hit the water. The akuma, having underestimated her speed, was cut in half by her long slender claws before it had time to even turn its gaze to her.  
Without missing a beat, Aqua turned and dashed into the water before diving under the surface where Kanda had sunk. She swam down as fast as she could but her lungs threatened to give out just as she caught sight of Kanda’s limp form sinking father down. Her eyes held a conflicted look for a second before narrowing in determination. She released the pent up air in her lungs and took a deep breath as a light glow enveloped her body until it intensified into a blinding light. As it faded, the changes to her form were revealed. Her long slender lags had become a blue/green tail that swayed in the water before flicking and sending her rocketing down through the water. She wrapped her arms around his chest before rising toward the surface as fast as she could.  
Her head broke the water and she struggled to stay afloat with Kanda’s weight dragging her back down. With the help of the waves, she was able to get to the shore and pull Kanda out of the reaches of the water. She pressed her ear to his still bleeding chest and was able to hear the faint sound of his heartbeat, but his chest wasn’t moving, he wasn’t breathing.  
Aqua took a deep breath before pressing her mouth against his, pushing air into his lungs before moving to take another breath and repeat what she had just done. After the fifth time, Kanda moved and coughed up a mouthful of water, turning on his side as he took deep breathes before falling into his back once again. With half opened eyes, he looked at Aqua who was leaning over him with an expression of relief covering her features.  
“You’re alive! Thank God!”  
“What happened?” His voice was slightly horse and he spoke slowly.  
“The akuma, it attacked you then tossed you into the water. I killed it and went in after you. I was afraid that I wouldn’t get to you in time, and I was almost too late. Thankfully, your heart was still beating.” She smiled brightly and Kanda just closed his eyes, obviously still recovering from his near death experience. Aqua welcomed the fact that he had passed out without noticing her tail and it gave her the opportunity to change her tail back into her legs.  
She stumbled to her feat to try and get Kanda back to the hospital, but exhaustion hit her like a brick wall and she collapsed back onto her knees in the sand, using her legs to support the upper part of her body. She slowly forced herself up again, stumbling toward the nearest building as fast as she could without falling too much. It took her a few minutes but eventually she reached a door and pounded on it before collapsing against the frame as it opened. A girl a few years older than herself opened the door before calling back into the house for what Aqua assumed were her parents or friends at least. The girl bent down to her level.  
“What happened?! Are you alright?!?” Aqua’s eyes were half open as she looked up at the girl with a pleading expression on her tired face.  
“Please…my friend…he needs a doctor…down on the beach…hurry…please…” The last of her strength slipped away and she collapsed into the girl as two boys ran in the direction of the beach. The girl picked Aqua up as best as she could and carried her toward the hospital until another boy came and took her into his own arms, giving the other girl time to run ahead to get a doctor.


	5. Encounter with a Noah

*Kanda’s P.O.V*  
A dull throb in my head was what I awoke to, and allow me to inform you that that is not something pleasant. Thankfully it faded quickly as I scanned the room, which appeared to be a hospital room. I sat up quickly and immediately was scolded by a nurse that had entered the room at the same time.  
“You’re not allowed up yet! The wound in your chest might reopen!” Wound?? I glanced down to see that there were wrappings covering the better part of my chest. Last night came back in a rush: the akuma, the injury, the water, waking up to see Aqua before passing out again. And now, waking up this annoying woman bustling in every direction.  
“By quiet! You running around is doing nothing to help my already pounding head!” She flinched, muttered a quick apology and left the room in haste. I let out a deep sigh and placed a hand over my eyes. Something just wasn’t sitting right in mind about Aqua last night. She said she defeated the akuma after it tossed me into the water and then she rescued me. But, how? There’s no way she could have defeated the akuma then swam down fast enough to reach me.  
I cracked an eye open when the door opened, and a familiar head of long brown hair popped into the room. Aqua smiled brightly and walked over to the chair to one side of the bed I sat on. I closed my eye again and let out another heavy sigh.  
“Care to explain?”  
“I’ll tell you what I can.”  
“How are you walking when your leg was broken?”  
“It healed.”  
“How?” I glanced at her from the corner of my eye to see her fidgeting in her seat, an uncomfortable look in her brown eyes.  
“Well…you see…that is something I can’t really tell you.” I shook my head in irritation before standing up from the bed and throwing on my jacket. I turned to her and she looked away.  
“Fine. Don’t tell me, but if it’s something that might get in the way later on, than you should head back to the Order now.” I exited the room after grabbing Mugen, leaving Aqua to absorb what I had said.

*Aqua’s P.O.V.*  
I watched Kanda walk out of the door, his words slowly sinking into my mind. From what I knew about myself I really couldn’t determine whether or not my change would be a hindrance to our mission. But for now, I would be fine as long as I wasn’t forced underwater until I almost drowned. I stared at the glowing closes in my palms; these had been given to me for a reason. But I didn’t know what for yet.  
I clenched my fist and stood up, hospital clothes swishing as I moved. I went straight to my room and changed into my uniform. I may be different, but that wasn’t going to stop me from doing my duty as an exorcist. I stopped to look at my reflection in the glass of a window and took the black ribbon from my pocket and pulled my hair back into its usual ponytail. I flashed a small, yet confident, smile at my reflection before stalking out of the hospital with a quick thank you to the nurses and doctors.  
I hurried to find Kanda, spotting him a few blocks away fighting another akuma. I activated my innocence and cut it down, watching it explode before turning to Kanda with a small smirk.  
“It won’t get in the way.”  
“It better not.” I turned quickly and cut down the akuma that had come up behind me.  
“As long as I’m not in danger of drowning, I’ll be just fine. Then we can finish and go back to ignoring each other.” He said nothing but sheathed his sword, as the immediate threat had been dealt with.  
“We still have to find the Innocence. The number of akuma here leave no room to question that there is a piece somewhere in this town.” I nodded and we set off in opposite direction to scope out the town. Somehow, I ended up on top of the church steeple that I had first jumped to the top of when I first arrived with Kanda. The scene was almost the same; the only thing that was different was the time of day. Or at least that was until I looked closely. A little ways out to sea dark clouds were gathering on the horizon. A storm, a very large one. A flash of lightning distracted her for a second, long enough to take her attention away from the person that came up behind me.  
“Find something interesting, exorcist?” I turned quickly, facing a girl with short black hair and glimmering gold eyes. Her skin was gray and a line of stigmata ran across her forehead.  
“Who are you?!” She giggled, floating at my level atop what appeared to be an umbrella, and licked her lips in the manner of a predator spotting the perfect piece of prey.  
“You must be new, more exorcists know about the Clan of Noah already. What’s your name? I’m Road.” I activated my innocence; this girl was to strange for my liking. I was about to take a step back when I remembered that I was a good three stories above the ground when my heel brushed off the edge slightly.  
“My name is no concern of yours.” She giggled again.  
“Want to play with me, Ms. Exorcist? You seem like a fun person to play with.” My eyes narrowed dangerously as I let lose a single small butterfly from my claw, sending it zipping away to inform Kanda about this girl. If all the exorcists knew about her then she was obviously a threat of some kind. But despite the small size of the butterfly it still caught Road’s eye, even for just a second.  
“Wow! You made a butterfly out of ice! What a unique innocence ability!! Now I really want to play, then I can see everything you can do!”  
“Sorry to spoil the fun, Noah, but this game ends here.”


	6. Captured

*3rd Person P.O.V.*  
A dark figure flew through the air, blade gleaming in the sunlight as it was brought down on the head of the Noah girl. But she jumped back, more like glided on the umbrella, out of the blade’s reach. Kanda landed on the space next to Aqua, balancing precariously before regaining his footing on the platform. He ‘tch’-ed angrily.  
“Couldn’t you find a better place to run into a fight?!” The question was directed at his partner who in turn scowled darkly with irritation clear on her face.  
“How the h3ll was I supposed to know that there was an enemy besides the akuma in this place?! I was never informed about this ‘Clan of Noah’!! D@mn it all!” The obviously annoyed girl jumped down from the steeple, landing in a crouch and sliding down the slanted room before landing flawlessly on the ground below. With Aqua safely on the ground ready to take out any akuma that might appear, Kanda was left to focus on the giggling Noah.  
“That girl was awfully pretty, I’m almost jealous of her. She wouldn’t tell me her name though. She reminded me a lot of you though, which was quite strange. Can you tell me her name?” He said nothing and the Noah sighed in vexation.  
“I’ll cut you a deal, exorcist. If you tell me her name I’ll leave you be this time around.” The samurai’s expression darkened, he refused to trust his enemy. A few explosions caught Kanda’s attention and also signaled that Aqua had taken care of more of the akuma that had been drawn in by the presence of the Noah.  
Seeing as she would get nothing out of her current opponent, Road sighed and half closed her eyes in boredom.  
“Fine, don’t tell me. I’ll find out soon enough.” With a twisted smirk, the girl disappeared from sight, leaving Kanda to question where she had gone before following the path his partner had taken just a few minutes early in descending to the ground. Said girl was standing in the courtyard of the church, akuma remains scattered around her and blood splatters on her uniform. Her innocence was deactivated and her breathing was heavy from invoking for such a long time as well as more than once.  
“Well that was interesting. Care to tell me who that was and what this ‘Clan of Noah’ is??” Before the vexed samurai could answer, a large box appeared flat against the ground, centered on the shocked brunette. Her eyes widened as the box closed around her, cutting her off from the courtyard. She banged her fist on the wall as a stream of curses left her mouth. She took a step back and activated her innocence, striking with as much for as possible against the impossibly strong sides of the strange box.  
On the outside, Kanda had drawn Mugen, glaring daggers at the girl laughing above the box that was slowly starting to disappear.  
“I told you I would find out her name on my own. It’s much too sad that the Order had to lose such a pretty girl so soon. Well, bye bye, Exorcist.” With that the Noah disappeared along with the box.  
On the inside, Aqua was attacking the walls until her claws shattered, leaving a few pieces that disappeared when she deactivated her innocence. Her vision blurred as she slumped down against a wall, breathing heavy as her leg ached and her minor wounds throbbed. Her strength was slipping away and her eyelids dropped and she fell onto the ground, too tired to move as she passed out, the last thing she saw was a dark figure moving toward her.  
***  
Kanda paced the courtyard, blood from dozens of slaughtered akuma stained his clothes red and his blade swinging lightly in his tight grip. His guard had been down and he let a Noah take Aqua. Komui had partnered him with the girl because she was new, and low and behold on her first mission she was captured by a curious Noah who merely wanted to know her name. Words could not describe how irritated and furious he was. He sheathed his blade and ran as fast as he could back to the hotel, making his way to the phone in the corner and attaching his golem to the device, ignoring the vexed manager behind the hotel’s desk. Komui picked up after a second with a much too cheerful ‘Hello~!’  
“Komui, we have a problem.”  
“What’s wrong? How’s Aqua doing on her first mission??”  
“That’s the problem. We encountered a Noah and she’s been taken.”  
“I see.” His tone changed into a serious one instantly, a drastic change from his normal bubbly tone that irritated Kanda so much.  
“I found a clue to the innocence here, but I need Aqua’s help.” He could just imagine the shock at hearing Kanda say that he needed help from someone else.  
“I’ll send Allen and Lenalee to help you find Aqua; we can’t afford to lose any more exorcists right now. They’ll be there some time tomorrow; I’ll have then leave right away. Hopefully Allen’s presence might lure out one of them.” By one, he meant Road of course.  
“Alright, bye.”  
“Kanda.”  
“What?”  
“Please get her back.”  
“You don’t have to tell me.” He hung up the phone without another word. All that was left would be to wait for the other two to get to San Cibrao. In the meantime, Kanda went looking for a level 2 or higher akuma that he might be able to get a clue about where the Noah of Dreams might be from it. But it seemed as though all the akuma had decided to lie low, as if they knew his intentions. Thunder boomed over head as the storm hit the town, lighting flashed in the sky as rain fell heavily. The sound of waves crashing against the shore unsettled the exorcist as he headed back to the hotel; there wasn’t anything more he could do until Allen and Lenalee got here and they figured out where Aqua had been taken. She was the key to finding the innocence, if he had figured out the legend of the town correctly, but there was little to no doubt in his mind about it. It also would explain quite a bit if he really was right about it.  
He sat down on his bed and grumbled and fumed silently; this girl shouldn’t concern him this much, but for some reason, he found it almost impossible to stop the nagging sensation that he had to find her quickly. Before anything could happen.


	7. Dream Turned Nightmare

*Aqua’s P.O.V*  
Pain. That’s what I woke to find coursing through my body. I couldn’t move my legs or my arms, and when I tried to lift my head, I winced in pain at the throbbing in the back of my skull. I pushed past the haze that clouded my vision and saw that I was tired down to a table. My jacket was gone and my pants had blood soaked rips covering them, same for my arms. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, but only to snap them open when I heard a somewhat familiar giggle.  
“Looks like you’ve finally decided to wake up. You have really pale skin. It reminds me of a doll almost. Maybe that’s what I’ll do: turn you into a doll; after all, my first exorcist doll was taken back by Allen.”  
“I still don’t know what you are. Kanda treated you like an enemy, yet you appear to be a human.” My voice was scratchy and cracked in the middle of my sentences.  
“You sound almost as bad as you look. Honestly, the color red doesn’t suit you all that much. But I’ll save that for another conversation. I’m a Noah, one of the original apostles of God. There are twelve in all, each with their own unique ability or power. Being the Noah of Dreams, I can take control of and manipulate or even create a dream. This place,” She gestured to the floating candle filled space,  
“This is my dream. It’s special because I can make it look however I want and everything I want or need can appear here with just a thought.” I stared blankly up into the darkness.  
“That doesn’t explain why you kidnapped and tortured me.” I pointed out blandly while she giggled.  
“Well you see, the Noah are the ones that can control akuma. The Earl creates them and gives then to us or sends them out in search of innocence so that we can destroy it.” I grit my teeth, a wave of fear rolled through me and I clenched my fists tightly. She noticed my actions and laughed again.  
“Oh, don’t worry; I won’t destroy your innocence. All I really want is to know your name. Honest.” This girl captured and torn my skin to ribbons just so she could know my name?! I was raging on the inside, but on the outside I kept my usual calm and blank face. I had to figure out how to get out of this strange place. I activated my innocence quickly, forming claws in an attempt to break the restraints with it, but the Noah reacted quickly as well, stabbing one of the shape ended candles into my leg. I cried out in agony and my synchronization stopped. I clenched my jaw and glared with complete loathing at the girl as she left the weapon in my leg, now I couldn’t move it at all without a shot of pain running through me. Road laughed and skipped around a little before stopping and putting a hand on her chin like she was thinking.  
“I know what I’ll do! You seem to like the water; I noticed when I first saw you staring out at the ocean from the steeple. I wonder how you feel about drowning.” Her amused eyes turned and locked on my wide ones as the table vanished and I was plunged into freezing cold water. The water hit my wounds and I bit my lip against the pain, tasting copper as it bled. I swam up to the best of my ability and took a lung full of air as soon as I broke the surface, but when I did that, something forced me back under. It felt like I was trapped in a glass box as I thrashed around in the water, lungs burning and fists pounding on the invisible walls. In a last ditch effort to escape, I activated my innocence and tried to freeze the water around me, but it didn’t work. I saw Road outside, she looked like she was laughing but the water muffled my hearing as black dots began to swarm my vision.  
The burning in my lungs intensified and I knew I wouldn’t last much longer before my other form took over to keep me alive. My movements slowed and I finally released the air in my lungs. Bubbled drifted out of my mouth as my form changed. I breathed in slowly, trying to quell the burning sensation in my throat as Road stared at me with clear shock and surprise in her eyes and features. I glared at her though the water.  
“Nice try, but I won’t drown my matter what you do.” She smiled.  
“I’ll make you a deal. Tell me your name and how you did that, and I’ll let you go. That, or I could ripe every scale from that pretty little tail or yours.” Her sadistic smile sent a shiver of fear through my body as the water centered on my upper body, leaving my tail to flick through empty air below me. I knew that if I stayed like this I might die so with a tired sigh I gave in. it was probably really stupid of me to defy her, especially since I was so weak in comparison.  
“Fine. My name is Aqua Merida. I was born like this and when I bonded with a piece of innocence I was able to change my tail into legs. Now let me go.” Road nodded and the water disappeared, dropping me into the floor where I changed back into my human form. I stared up at her coldly through my soaked brown hair and carefully stood up, feeling water run down my clothes, pooling on the floor around my feet. Road walked around me, staring at me before stopping in front of me.  
“As I promised, I’ll let out go. But nod without a parting gift of course!” She pointed at me and before I could react, sharp candles buried themselves in my newly healed skin, these were as thin as knives and I screamed in pain as blood stained my body yet again. The candles disappeared and I felt myself fall onto hard ground before losing consciousness


	8. Found

*3rd Person’s P.O.V*  
Kanda woke the next morning still irritated, but pushed it aside and got dressed before heading out to search for akuma again. After a few hours of searching but with no luck, he started toward the train station. The train was just arriving and as he caught sight of Lenalee and Moyashi. Calling out, and they headed toward him.  
“Komui told us what happened. Got any leads as to where she might be?” He growled slightly, remembering his fruitless attempts to find an akuma.  
“No. And Road was the one that took her, so she might not even be in San Cibrao anymore. I haven’t been able to find any akuma that could give me a clue. There were dozens of them here just yesterday and now it seems like they’re lying low.”  
“Looking for an akuma is a good start. Allen, can you find any?” The silver haired boy had his eye activated and he nodded.  
“Yes, there’re actually two pretty close to wear we are now, follow me.” He set off at a brisk pace with the other two at his heels. He stopped and walked towards a door before knocking. Two people, what appeared to be a couple, answered the door and were immediately grabbed and thrown against the opposite wall. Allen had one while Kanda’s blade was at the other’s throat.  
“Good evening, akuma. We were wondering if you could help us. You see, we seem to have lost a friend, we need her back.” The akuma in human skin shook.  
“Y-you won’t get anything out of us, exorcist!!” The two tightened their grip as Allen gave them a sickly sweet smile.  
“Then maybe you could find a certain Noah for us? I hear that Road’s around here somewhere. Go get her.” He ended with a sharp glare before releasing the akuma. It ran quickly and vanished just as fast with Allen tracking’s it’s movements before it disappeared completely. Kanda’s blade never drew back from the second akuma, leaving it to fidget in an attempt to get away from the thing that could end it in a single slash. Kanda’s sharp gaze moved to it and it froze. But his concentration was broken by a fangirl-like scream.  
“Allen~!!!” The silver haired exorcist recoiled from the sound but was wrapped in a hug by the Noah.  
“The akuma told me you were here!” Kanda’s blade left the akuma’s neck and instead focused on Road. She smiled at him when she saw the blade and he glared at her.  
“Hello again! Don’t worry, I let your friend go, so don’t worry about her, she’s not dead. Not yet at least.” She disappeared into thin air, leaving the exorcists and the akuma alone in the street. Kanda ‘tch’-ed and ran off while Lenalee took care of the akuma and Allen followed his lead by jumping up to search for their missing companion.  
Kanda headed to the church to see if she might be there but with no luck. Same with the inn and other places they had already been besides the coast, and that was the next place he checked. He dashed across the sand, eyes searching for the familiar brown hair or black uniform. Stopped for a second, leaning up against a tall rock when he noticed something shinning at the top of a hill not far from where he was. When he looked closer, he made out the shape of a butterfly and quickly ran towards it. As he got closer, it started moving away from him and circled back every time his paced lessened. He followed the glittering creature to a gruesome scene.  
Aqua lay in a pool of her own blood. Gashes and stab wounds covered her body and blood soaked her ripped tank top and pants. Her jacket lay a few feet away, completely fine. Her many wounds were half frozen over so there wasn’t as much blood, but her pale face betrayed just how much had already been lost. Her hair was strewn about her and was dripping with water and what wasn’t soaked in blood was drenched as well.  
Kanda carefully wrapped her jacket around her and picked her up bridal style, carrying her as quickly as he could without reopening her wounds. But for some reason, he didn’t go to the hospital. He stopped at the edge of the water as it washed over the sand. His thoughts returned to when he had questioned her about how her leg had been healed, and he had a strange feeling that it had something to do with the water before him.  
He carefully set the injured girl down in the sand a little ways from a nearly still area of water before using the water to wash the blood from her body. With each newly cleaned wound he wrapped it in clean cloth he had been carrying with him. When all the cuts had been wrapped he picked her up again and headed back to the inn, taking her room key from her coat pocket to unlock the door and placing her carefully on the bed to let her rest, seeing as some color had returned to her face. He left the room and went to find Lenalee and Allen, but they found him first. He explained the situation and the all agreed (Kanda somewhat reluctantly) that they would stay for a few days to make sure that she would really be alright. The two checked into a hotel different from Aqua and Kanda’s but close enough so that they wouldn’t have to walk to far to check in on the sleeping girl.  
Aqua stayed asleep for three days with no sign of waking. But one day, Kanda walked into her to find that she was no longer lying on the bed. After a moment of slight panic, Kanda noticed that the door to the bathroom was closed as opposed to it normally being open. He walked closer to the door and heard the sound splashing water, confirming that there was someone in there. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, but it seemed too soon as a crash followed after it. He quickly opened the door and stopped dead at what he saw.


	9. Closer

The scene in front of him quickly turned back as he screwed his eyes closed against the large amount water being thrown on him. He wiped his eyes of access water before brushing his now soaked hair away from his face. He glared at the girl with a scowl.  
“What the h3ll was that for?!” The brown haired girl’s eyes widened at his hostile yet calm tone, it seemed as though the fact that she now possessed a tail instead of legs hadn’t fazed him in the slightest. She shifted into a position as upright as she could before scowling back.  
“You surprised me! What kind of idiot rushes into a bathroom when there’s a girl inside!?” He stepped inside and closed the door.  
“Well excuse me for worrying about a critically injured girl!”  
“Since when did you care?! You said that if I screwed up again I should just go back to Headquarters!!”  
“That was before I found out that you were the only one able to retrieve the innocence!” Not being able to come up with a good comeback, Aqua crossed her arms over her chest as her tail flicked in irritation. Kanda sighed and walked forward, sitting with his back facing the large, water filled tub in which his partner sat.  
“You were the one who bandaged me up, weren’t you?” The girl inquired.  
“The first time, yes. But Lenalee took over after I brought you back here.” Kanda fidgeted uncomfortably before stripping off his soaked jacket and tossing it aside.  
“Sorry about the water, but you really did startle me.”  
“It’s fine, I shouldn’t have barged in like I did.”  
“So we’re even then; I saved you, you saved me. Well this mission has been quite fun so far, don’t you think?” She leaned her arms on the side so she was slightly to the side and above Kanda. Her eyes held a glimmer of amusement as she looked at him, he glanced up at her before returning his gaze to the wall opposite him, but he didn’t turn fast enough for Aqua to miss the faint tint of pink on his cheeks. She pretended not to notice as she adjusted the white cloth around her chest, making sure it didn’t slip or fall, thankfully it was think so even though it was soaked nothing was visible. Closing her eyes she leaned farther back into the warm water. She flicked a handful of water over her tail to keep it wet before relaxing in the familiar feel of the water. She began to doze off after a while but she cracked open one eye when she felt something run over the fine scales at the base of her tail, near the fin.  
She watched as Kanda slowly trailed his hand lightly over the slick scales. To him it felt exactly like a fish’s but there was something different about it. His fingertips brushed the thin material that made up her fin and drew back slightly when it twitched.  
“It’s not as great as you think.” He turned his gave to her but her own eyes were focused on her tail.  
“People tend to give in to the fear of what they don’t understand. I’ve had too many near death experiences because I trusted someone with my secret. They think I’m evil because I’m not like them. It’s rather ridiculous actually.” She laughed lightly before continuing.  
“Though it does have its good side, being able to stay under water is a really fun, especially since the fish will swim with you often. And dolphins are so much fun to play with.” He watched with a small smile as she stared off into space, a ridiculous grin spread over her face. Eventually she stopped and turned her gaze back to him.  
“Have you ever swam in the ocean before?” The question caught him off guard and his thoughts immediately turned to the first time he had even attempted to swim. Of course that one time he had drowned and had a needle stuck in his shoulder.  
“I don’t swim.” He answered simply, but Aqua had a look that said ‘seriously?’  
“Ok, I can’t swim. My first experience with water wasn’t exactly a pleasant one.” He turned away from her as she tried her best to keep from laughing. She never would have guessed that the one and only Yu Kanda didn’t know how to swim. It eventually became too much for her and she burst out in high pitched giggles. He shot her a glare and stood up; preparing to leave, but she gripped his sleeve.  
“I’m sorry, please stay. I’ll probably need help since changing requires a lot of energy and my wounds healing have already used up a lot.” He glanced at her and nodded, grabbing his jacket as her body lit up with light. When it faded, she climbed out, a pair of black short-shorts and a white swim-top were her only clothes. She slowly stood up but as soon as she did so she began to fall forwards. That’s when Kanda moved to catch her, helping her to stand up before guiding her out to her room and laying her on the bed. He grabbed a towel and carefully dried the visible parts of her as well as her hair. She was already barely conscious when he moved to leave but her grip on his jacket was firm and unyielding.  
“Stay here…with me…” She mumbled tiredly, still not releasing her hold on him. He sighed in exasperation but lay down beside her. Despite his still soaked clothes, she curled up in his side, leaving the normal composed man to panic slightly since he wasn’t sure what the heck he was supposed to do. He settled for his arms around her, pulling her closer to him and letting himself fall asleep.


	10. Awake

*Aqua’s P.O.V*  
I woke up curled up in something warm and soft; I was awake but didn’t open my eyes because of how comfortable I was. But then I felt something wrapped around my waist and at the same time, something brushed against my cheek. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at the face that belonged to the body with its arms wrapped around me. I felt myself blush a deep crimson when I saw that it was Kanda sleeping beside me. I tried to wiggle out of his grip but to no avail, it only got tighter.  
“K-Kanda…” I stuttered, trying to wake him up while questions raced through my mind. Like why he was sleeping in the same bed as me. He stirred slightly and mumbled a little but didn’t wake up.  
“Kanda.” I spoke a little firmly than before and watched as his eyes opened and focused on my face.   
“Um… Good morning?” His eyes widened a fraction before returning to their normal passive look.  
“Finally decided to wake up?” I smiled an innocence yet demonic smile in response to his words.  
“I did. I would have left you alone to sleep but there was a small problem because of the position of your arms.” He glanced down before unwinding his arms and sitting up, it was only then that I realized that he was still only half awake. I sat up myself and carefully stood from the bed, wary of any muscle locks or intense stiffness. Thankfully nothing went wrong as I walked over to where my clothes were, noticing that the only clothing on me at the moment were a white swim-top, and black short-shorts. I glanced over my shoulder at Kanda before hurrying into the bathroom and changing into my spare uniform. The only thing left of my other one was the jacket, and even that was covered in my own blood.  
A sigh escaped my lips as I exited the bathroom. The first thing I noticed was that Kanda was gone, and second was the piece of paper sitting where he had been. I lifted the note and read it over:

Lenalee and Moyashi are here so if you say a single word about this morning I will kill you. Go to the café as soon as you’re done so we can go retrieve the innocence.  
-Kanda

I crumpled the note as heat flooded my cheeks. D@mn that @sshole!! It was his own fault! ...but that doesn’t explain why the h3ll I’m still blushing!!!! I was the one forced to wake up staring straight at him and his handsome fa- sh$t! I can’t afford to fall for a guy right now!! Especially not a guy with such long…silky hair… f@ck.  
My forehead connected with the wood trim of the doorway quite harshly and I felt a small trickle of blood fall down my face. I quickly wiped the warm liquid away and headed down to the café, just like Kanda had said to do. I didn’t see him when I first entered the small building, but I did see a familiar head of white hair. I walked forward and it appeared that Allen had noticed me because he waved me over quite excitedly.  
“Aqua! Are you sure you’re healed enough to be walking around.”  
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” I sat opposite him and ordered some food from the waitress along with a cup of tea which I sipped gratefully went it came. I hadn’t eaten since I was captured and I don’t even know how long ago that was. For all I knew, I could have been asleep for months before I woke up. I glanced up at him and noticed that he was trying not to stare at me.  
“If it’s about the bump on my head, I walked into the door as I was leaving my room.” He nodded and glanced towards the door where Lenalee had just stepped inside. She walked over and took a seat next to Allen.  
“Looks like you’re recovered after all. That’s good; Komui was worried about losing another exorcist to the Earl.”  
“I still don’t know who this ‘Clan of Noah’ is. I know about the Earl and such, but the name’s unfamiliar to me.” Lenalee opened her mouth to speak but another voice cut in before she could say a word.  
“The Clan of Noah are allies of the Millennium Earl. They have the ability to destroy innocence and have killed many of our exorcist, including one of the generals.” I looked over to see Kanda walking over to us. Before I could say or do anything, he grabbed the front of my uniform and dragged me out of the café.  
“Hey!! Let me go! I can walk on my own!” he released my uniform and traded it for my wrist, pulling me through the people in the streets quickly. Even if it was just my wrist, I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and instinctively yanked my hand out of his grip. I looked to the side when he stopped and I could feel his eyes narrow.  
“I-I can walk, just tell me where we’re going.” I mentally cursed when I stuttered and glanced up at Kanda for an instant to see him sigh in irritation.  
“Where the hell do you think we’re going, idiot. To retrieve the innocence before Road gets her hands on it and destroys it. Now let’s go.” He took off through the crowd and I jogged to catch up to him, matching his pace. I wasn’t sure where we were heading and I didn’t feel like having holes burned into my head because Kanda was more annoyed than usual. Jeez, I’ve known this guy for a few days and I already have a pretty good idea of what his usual mood is: irritated and a pain in the @ss. How the hell did I start falling for this guy again?  
I glanced over at him from the corner of my eye and smiled.  
“What are you smiling about?” I shook my head, smile still in place.  
“I don’t know."


	11. Storm

*3rd Person P.O.V.*  
Kanda led Aqua through the streets of the town and stopped when they stood before a large area of ruins just outside the town.  
“The man who showed me this place said that it just appeared one night; rose out of the sea like it is now, and that ever since that night people had begun disappearing at random. There’s only one problem that I’ve found.” Aqua followed as Kanda walked to the center of the ruble where a large hole had opened up in the floor and was filled with water.  
“My gut tells me the innocence is down there. Really far down, that’s another thing I was told, these ruins appeared out of an abyss that goes down for miles.” But Aqua’s mind wasn’t focusing on his words; her mind had wandered to the feeling of familiarity that this place brought to her. Without warning, she took off farther into the ruins until she came to a stop in the gap between what would have been large walls. She lingered for a moment before continuing, her pace picking up as Kanda followed her. Before long she was sprinting down what would have been a hall and came to a sharp stop in front of the only solid structure: a pair of stone doors with a crescent moon and a flower carved into them.  
Her breath caught in her throat as she slowly pushed opened the doors. The inside was in the same condition as the rest of the place, crumbling and destroyed, but still recognizable to her. After all, who couldn’t be able to recognize the place they had grown up in?  
The only thing that seemed to make her heart stop right then and there was the decaying corpse on the floor. Her eyes widened and she found she couldn’t look away from it; the remnants of what looked to be brown hair were still attacked to the skull. The eyes were nothing but empty sockets and what was left of the skin was dried up and in patches on the skeleton. It looked to be the remains of a mermaid, a very young mermaid.  
Kanda was behind her in an instant, putting a hand over her eyes and another around her waist as he pulled her from the room and out of sight of the corpse. A few seconds later, Aqua’s legs gave out and she sunk to the floor with Kanda. Her breath came in rapid gasps as Kanda held on tightly to her trembling body, removing his hand from her eyes, he stroked her hair to try and calm her down.  
The only thing he could think of was that she must have known whose corpse that was; but what he wanted to know, was how someone could have died so young. Surely no one could stand the thought of just standing by and watching them die? His attention refocused on the girl as her breathing evened out and her shaking stopped.  
Without a word, he helped her back to her feet and she slowly walked back to the door and kneeled down next to the body. She reached forward with a shaky hand and pulled what appeared to be a necklace from the corpse’s neck as well as a crumpled piece of paper from its hand. She turned quickly and left the room, stuffing the necklace into her pocket and straightening out the faded paper. Her face visibly paled and she dropped the paper before taking off once more at a sprint. Kanda picked the paper up before dashing after her; he wasn’t familiar with Aqua or her family, but even from this he could tell that it was an extremely important matter to her:

Dearest Elder Sister Aquarius,  
I’m so very sorry that you had to find this. For if you have it means that I am no longer in the realm of the living and that the Mirastar has been stolen. Mother and Father disappeared without a trace and a few days later Kaven and Kerillia did as well. Hamirial fears for the rest of our family and has not let us out of his sight for days now. But that was to be the least of out worries, the Kateria have appeared once again and are attacking. They have killed most of our people but our brothers and sisters fled with as many as they could. I stayed though. I knew they would come for the Mira Star and for you. But I have failed in my attempted and have paid the price with my life. Please dear sister, you must get the Mira Star back! You must stop the extinction of our people and our kind! You must not despair, you have to stay alive and prove the legend true! I knew you are the only one who can do this. I have faith in you. And I love you.  
-Your sister, Liena 

He thrust the paper into his pocket and skidded to a halt, a few inches from almost running into the brunette that had stopped into the center of a very large room. In the middle sat an empty pedestal in between two large, crumbling thrones.  
Aqua took a few steps forward while Kanda stayed where he was, watching her closely as her hands balled into fists and her shoulders shook. Without warning, a blast of thunder shook the ruined palace, loosening rocks and sending them crashing to the floor. Kanda lunged to the side to avoid a large piece of stone and called out to the furious girl.  
“Aqua! Aqua, calm down!!” She didn’t respond and the sound of thunder boomed once more as the sound of waves crashing against the shore grew greater in intensity. Kanda felt a slight twinge of fear deep inside as he dashed forward, avoiding falling rocks before finally wrapping his arms around the small form of the shaking girl and whispering calmly in her ear.  
“Aquarius, calm yourself.” Everything seemed to stop at once: the thunder dispersed, the crashing of the waves dulled, the stones ceased falling, and the girl in his arms froze. Kanda released a breathe he didn’t know he was holding and looked down as Aqua’s arms wrapped around him and she buried her head into his chest, silently crying.


	12. Sea Battle

Aqua’s silent tears soon ceased to fall and she released herself from the embrace of her partner and turned back to face the crumbling thrones. Neither of them spoke a word as she ran a hand over the top of one of the thrones before moving back to the wall that held the remains of a tattered banner.  
“I’m sorry I reacted like that.” Her voice was soft but the in silence it was heard without difficulty.  
“It’s alright.” Kanda walked up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him and smiled sadly.  
“Let’s go.” He nodded and they left the room, heading back to where Kanda had said the innocence might be.  
“So it’s down there?”  
“I don’t know for sure, but it’s going on a gut feeling.” Aqua nodded and stripped down to her under shirt and shorts before pushing herself off the edge into the cold water and letting her tail form.  
“I’ll take a look around. What does innocence look like, by the way?”  
“In its natural state, it’ll have a green glow to it, but other than that I can’t really describe it.” She nodded once more.  
“If it’s down there some akuma might show up, I’ll be back as soon as possible.” With that, she turned and jumped backward into the water, flicking a small amount into the air. As she swam down, the light became dimmer and dimmer until it faded altogether; but thankfully, her eyes were used to the absence of light, and even if they weren’t she still knew a few spells to conjure light to dispel the darkness.  
The rock continued down few a few minutes before it opened up a little ways. A faint light slowly came into view and she swam faster. The pinprick of light soon grew into small orb of light as she got closer, and she was absolutely sure that this was what they were looking for. She swam closer and was about to grasp it in her hand when something slammed into her from the side, knocking her away from the innocence fragment.  
She quickly grasped the fragment and raced upwards, hoping to outpace whatever it was that might pose a threat to her in the darkness. She could sense the malevolent presence of the thing swimming after her and just as she came in sight of the light, something wrapped around the base of her tail and yanked her down harshly. She cried out and released the fragment, but sent a small current to carry it up to the surface of the water in hopes that Kanda would get it before the creature did.  
“Discute tenebras lucem hanc in malum, et ostendam me inimicus meus! [1]” She thrust her palm down wards as a bright light engulfed it, revealing a giant sea serpent. She sucked in a quick breath breathe before swimming as quick as she could towards the surface, but the serpent was faster still, attempting to swallow her whole as razor sharp teeth closer next to her with astonishing speed.  
With a final burst of speed, Aqua shot out of the water and ripped off the lotus ring that was on her right hand. Just as the ring hit the surface of the water, the serpent burst though it as well, letting lose a roar louder than thunder.  
But it was too late, Aqua smirked in victory as a bright blue light enveloped her body and she reappeared in her true form (Look up Aquarius from Fairy Tail). She raised one arm and a massive wave of water rose and slammed down on the beast but it just roared once more in anger.  
“Pesky beast, you’re in my way!!” Aqua yelled in retaliation before waving both arms above her head and bringing them down with incredible forces, creating a wave twice as large as the first and bringing it crashing down on the great serpent and sending it down into the water. Aqua was right behind it, rocketing through the water faster than she ever and reaching the head of the beast in mere seconds. She placed her hand on it and channeled her energy as her eyes began to glow and it engulfed the serpent quickly as it returned to its original form, a smaller serpent of a light blue color.  
‘My Lady.’  
“Hamirial, what happened to you?” The serpent wrapped itself around the mermaid gently.  
‘The Kateria are much stronger than I feared, my Lady. What has brought you back home? What of Lady Liena?’  
“Liena… has perished. I returned because of an important mission that I’ve been sent on, but it seems that the threat of the Kateria is more urgent. If they had the power to turn the Guardian of the Royal Family than we can only guess at how much else has changed.”  
‘My Lady, I sense another presence in the palace.’ Aqua gasped and her eyes went wide. She had completely forgotten that Kanda was still there!  
“My friend is there!! We have to go, quickly!” Hamirial bobbed his head before unwinding and swimming after Aqua. She was about to reach the light streaming from the surface when she stopped suddenly, yet another thing coming to her attention.  
“My ring! I unsealed my power and tossed it into the water; one moment Hamirial. Lotus signum septem maria humana mihi redde! [2]” A few seconds later, a new ring, exactly like the one she had thrown, appeared on her finger and she once again took on her normal appearance. The only exception was that she had reverted to her completely human form and was quickly running out of oxygen.  
Luckily, Hamirial sensed his Lady’s distress and quickly helped her to the surface of the water. Her head broke the surface and she inhaled as much air as possible before something or someone pulled her from the water.  
“Aqua! What happened?!” She opened her eyes to stare up at the slightly concerned looking Kanda.  
“Nothing… that I… couldn’t handle. I’m alright.” She stuttered before passing out. Kanda let out a half amused, half irritated sigh before laying her down on top of her folded jacket.  
“You obviously care about my Lady.” Kanda whipped around and unsheathed Mugen, pointing it at the figure that now stood beside the water.  
“Who’re you?”  
“I’m not your enemy, I am Hamirial.”

 

[1] light dispel this evil darkness and reveal to me my enemy  
[2] lotus seal of the seven seas, return to me my human form


	13. Unwanted Guests

Hamirial had long silver, spiked hair and eyes. His clothes were black for the most part but had bits of silver and blue as well (pic).  
It took Kanda a second to realize that this was the person the girl had spoken of in her note to Aqua. He lowered Mugen but kept a firm grip on the handle, still unsure of weather he was a threat or not.   
“What makes you think I care for her?”  
“I may be just a guard, but I’m not blind, anyone could tell you fancy my Lady.” Kanda bristled at the comment but his face betrayed him as a light pink spread over his cheeks. Hamirial chuckled lightly before standing.  
“You are not the first to fall for her, but you are the first human to my knowledge.” He shot Kanda a smirk to which he received a growl in response. The samurai sheathed his sword before leaning with his back against the wall next to the sleeping girl. He would have to wait for Moyashi and Lenalee to figure out where they were, not that it should be that hard, with the freak thunderstorm and the giant sea serpent that even he had seen from a different room that was missing a wall.   
He kept a close eye on the figure leaning on the opposite wall but glanced down every couple minutes to make sure that Aqua was still alright. A few minutes passed in complete silence until Hamirial shot up from the wall into a standing position.  
“Two people have entered the palace from the main entry, but there are more with them, with different auras.” Kanda stood up straight as well and drew Mugen before watching as Hamirial held out a hand and a large halberd materialized in his grasp.   
“Wait here with Aqua; I’ll go see what’s going on.” Kanda ordered, not giving Hamirial time to answer as he dashed out of the room and towards the main entry. He slowed his steps as he grew closer to where multiple voices were echoing. He stopped and perked around a corner, catching sight of the two exorcists that had arrived only a short time ago and behind them was a group of fix or six women all dressed in blue, green, and black clothing. The one thing he noticed about them right away was that they were all extremely good looking by the standards of normal people, Kanda on the other hand couldn’t care less about what they looked like. He sheathed Mugen quietly before stepping out from the corner and walking towards them as if nothing was suspicious about the group behind his fellow exorcists.   
“Took you long enough, Moyashi.” He snapped with in irritated tone. The white haired exorcist bristled at the comment.  
“My name is Allen! How many times do I have to say it, BaKanda!?” Lenalee cut in before the two could start fighting again.  
“Kanda, where’s Aqua?”   
“Searching for the innocence, this seemed like the perfect place for innocence to appear. Who are they?” He eyed the group with hostility and suspicion as they silently stared back at him.   
“They said that they’re the ones who first found these ruins and studied them. They were concerned about it when the storm suddenly popped up a little while ago, and then that huge wave.”   
“The ruins are fine, a few fallen pieces of stone but nothing major. They can leave.”  
“Relax BaKanda, they’re not akuma.” Kanda shot Allen a cold look.  
“That’s not what I’m worried about. They can leave. Now.” His glare hardened and one of them, a woman with copper hair and brown eyes, stepped forward and spoke.   
“No puedes simplemente echarnos de aquí! Hemos encontrado este lugar, así que tenemos el derecho de comprobar para ver lo que ha sido destruido! [1] ” The others nodded in agreement to whatever the woman had said while Kanda unsheathed Mugen partially.   
“I don’t know what you said but whatever it was the answer is ‘no’! Now leave before I make you!!” Kanda roared in anger, taking a threatening step towards the group who scrambled back in slightly fear while Lenalee and Allen grabbed Kanda.  
“Kanda!! What is wrong with you today?! Did a rock hit you in the head or something?!?!”   
“They’re normal people, put Mugen away and stop acting like this!!”  
“Let me go!” The women slowly backed away from the enraged exorcist before bolting from the ruins, fear clearly written on their features as well as slight anger.   
As soon as they left the room, Kanda stopped and sheathed Mugen, confusing the other two.   
“Tch. This could have been avoided if you had just gone along with it, Moyashi.” He glared before turning and walking away.  
“What the heck was that about, BaKanda?! ‘Gone along’ with what?!?!” Allen yelled before taking off after the samurai with Lenalee close behind. Kanda stayed silent as they walked through the halls, ignoring the white haired boy’s shouts and demand for an explanation. All at once, he stopped, making Allen crash into his back.  
“Don’t just stop, BaKanda!”  
“Allen…” Lenalee trailed off in exhaustion.  
“Shut up, Moyashi, before I silence you myself.” He turned his head to shoot a glare at him before turning into the door he had stopped in front of, the room Aqua had been resting in, but she no longer there. Slight panic gripped the usually composed exorcist as he pushed past the others and quickly made his way down the hall, glanced into each of the partially destroyed rooms as he went until he caught sight of the familiar silver hair of Hamirial as the guard was walking in his direction.  
“Calm down, I simply moved her to a safer location.”   
“Where?”   
“A side room that is connected to the throne room. The two others that are with you, are they your allies?”  
“Yes, they’re exorcists like me. You can trust them, but I think Aqua should be the one to tell them about this place and herself.” Before Hamirial could answer him, Allen rounded the corner and stopped dead.  
“Kanda, who is that? And where is Aqua?” The samurai let out an irritated sight, now he had to hope that Aqua would wake up before he killed the stupid Moyashi. He could tell that a torrent of questions was about to assault him and it was going to end with blood. Or at least an attempt for blood.

 

[1] You can't just kick us out of here! We found this place, so we have a right to check to see what has been destroyed!! ((Spanish from Google Translate, may not be accurate))


	14. Twin Siblings

After a hurried explanation as to whom the silver haired male was, Kanda headed straight to the room Hamirial had placed the still sleeping Aqua in. It was exactly where Hamirial had said it was, off to one side and hidden in plain sight. He opened the doors quietly closed them after he entered, hoping that the others would stay outside for a little while.  
He knelt next to her and brushed some stray strands of brown hair from her face, slightly relieved when he noticed that her skin wasn’t as pale as it had been earlier. He frowned slightly and moved back a little; somewhat glad he did because Allen burst through the doors a moment later.  
“Darn it Kanda!! Don’t run off like that!” Kanda opened his mouth to snap back at the silver haired exorcist but a loud crashing sound interrupted him and they both sprang into action, racing away from the room and towards where the sound had come from. They busted through a pair of doors and Kanda immediately drew Mugen from its sheath at the sight before them. Lenalee was pinned to the wall by an older girl with blue hair wearing strange clothes with a large lance in the hand that didn’t have Lenalee pinned to the wall with (Pic).  
“Lenalee!! Let her go!” The girl glanced back at the two before throwing her over at them. Allen scrambled to catch her before she hit the ground and Kanda lunged at her, Mugen ready to cut her to pieces. But she was faster than she looked, easily dodging his attack and countering it with her own. She dashed forward, intending to pierce him through but a large halberd locked with her weapon. The girl’s eyes widened.  
“Hamirial.” A ghost of a smile flickered over his face as his weapon vanished and the girl lowered hers.  
“Lady Kerillia.” He bowed. Kanda stopped at the name then remembered that is was in the letter Aqua found. He sheathed Mugen and began walking back to where Aqua was, but another lance was pointed at him before he took more than a few steps. This time it was a man with similar features as the girl: blue hair and strange clothes. The man smirked but there was a hint of malevolence in it as opposed to superiority.  
“Lord Kaven.” Hamirial said from behind and the man, Kaven, lowered his weapon.  
“Hamirial, where is Aquarius?” Kaven asked in a demanding tone.  
“What just a minute!!! Who are you?!” Kanda shot him an irritated look.  
“Shut up, Moyashi.” Allen glared over at him before returning his sight to Kaven who had walked over to stand by Kerillia. Before he had a chance to repeat himself, Kaven spoke.  
“You should listen to your partner. This doesn’t concern you, whoever you are.”  
“My name is Allen Walker, I’m with the Black Order, and since you hurt my friend, I have a right to know just what you’re doing here and why you attacked us.”  
“Kaven.” Kerillia shot the man a stern look and he flinched under her gave which turned to the silver haired exorcist and softened.  
“I apologize for my brother; he had no right to be so rude.” Her weapon disappeared as she walked over to stand a few feet from the exorcists.  
“My name is Kerillia; I’m the fifth oldest in my family, this is Kaven; he’s the sixth oldest and my twin. I’m sorry for attacking, but I thought you might be Kateria. Especially since I sensed the presence of my eldest sister, Aquarius.” Allen’s eyes were nothing but silver pools of confusion at this point, he had never heard of these ‘Kateria’ before and when she said Aquarius she might mean Aqua, but her didn’t know for sure.  
“Kerillia, you’ve said too much. Outsiders shouldn’t be involved with this.”  
“I feel like these people are an exception. Why else would Hamirial let them walk in the palace alone? He obviously trusts them, and I trust Hamirial’s judgment. Besides, what if they turn out to be friends of Aquarius? I wouldn’t want her mad at us if she found out we hurt her friends, would you?” Kaven visibly paled and shuddered, shaking his head vigorously. Kerillia nodded and turned her attention back to Hamirial, who had stayed silent the entire time.  
“Hamirial, I would like to see my sister if she truly is here.” Hamirial bowed once again.  
“Of course, My Lady. Follow me.” He walked past and let them in the direction of the throne room before turning and opening the door and allowing the twins to enter the room with Kanda following behind and Allen waiting outside with the still unconscious Lenalee.  
Kerillia knelt beside Aqua with Kaven as Kanda stood in the corner. Hamirial closed the door and the room was completely silent as Kerillia placed a hand on Aqua’s forehead. She mumbled a few words before closing her eyes and concentrating on something. A couple moments later Aqua’s eyes fluttered open and widened at the sight of her smiling siblings, instantly jolting upright and wrapping her arms around them both in a hug.  
“Kerillia! Kaven! I never thought I would see you again!” Kaven chuckled and Aqua released them from her hold only to look frantically. When she caught sight of Kanda standing in the corner her eyes lit up and she relaxed in relief, afraid that maybe something had happened while she was out.  
“Kanda!”  
“Tch. You’re too loud, did you think I left or something?” She chuckled lightly.  
“Well with you, I can only guess.”  
“I wouldn’t leave you like that. Ever.” With that he walked out of the room, leaving the slightly blushing Aqua with her smirking younger sister and somewhat irked brother. Aqua turned to her sister with a slight glare.  
“Not one word.”


	15. The Start

*Aqua’s P.O.V.*  
“So the Kateria really have returned… this is going from bad to worse.” Kerillia sighed while Kaven scowled.  
“You know that this means we have to go find the others, right?” I sat facing my younger siblings, a light frown on my face.  
“Yes it does. It’s going to be difficult to find them, since they might not even be here anymore.” I said, to which Kaven dropped his head back and let out an exaggerated sigh before standing and pacing the room.  
“I guess we can check the dimension room first, they may have gone there to escape.” Kerillia suggested and I nodded in response. We all stood and walked from the room, finding the three exorcists just outside.   
“I guess I should explain a few things, shouldn’t I?” I chuckled lightly as Allen and Lenalee stood from where they were sitting and Kanda straightened from leaning on the wall. I opened my mouth to speak but Lenalee spoke first.   
“What happened to you?!” I was slightly surprised at how high her voice was but I was more worried about how my siblings would take it.  
“You dare raise your voice at her!?” Lenalee flinched at how harsh Kaven sounded and took a step as he stepped forward maliciously.   
“Kaven.” He froze as I narrowed my eyes at his back.   
“But-”  
“Enough.” I hissed, irritated with his unprovoked actions against her. He flinched and stepped back again, staring over at a wall, not looking at anyone. I turned my attention back to Lenalee and a very shocked looking Allen. Kanda however didn’t react at all.  
“I’m sorry Lenalee; Kaven can be a little rash sometimes. He and Kerillia are my younger twin siblings, well, two of them. I have 13 siblings total; all of them have a twin so there are 7 pairs of twins in my family total.”  
“Thirteen… does that mean you have a sibling too?” Allen asked.  
“Yes, his name as Ash. He’s younger than me by about 2 minutes. Any other questions?” when everything stayed silent I smiled.   
“Good, now I’m going to have to ask a favor of you two.” I gestured to Allen and Lenalee who nodded in response. I dropped the smile and narrowed my eyes ever so slightly.  
“Go back to the Black Order and tell Komui I’m dead.” I would have laughed at their wide eyes and dropped jaws but I knew that now clearly wasn’t the time.   
“WHAT?!” They yelled at the same time.  
“Go back to the Order, and tell Komui the Noah killed me and destroyed my innocence. Ice already got one person dragged into this, I can’t let you two.”   
“No way! We can help you, that’s what friends are for!” Allen protested with Lenalee voicing her own thoughts right after.  
“Yeah, we aren’t letting you do something this important alone!” I sighed and shook my head before narrowing my eyes even more and raising my voice to a slightly shout.   
“Just do as I ask!! This doesn’t concern you so you need to stay out of it!! I refuse to watch more people be killed because of something I decided to do!! I’m telling you to do this so that you guys stay safe. Please, try to understand. This is more dangerous than facing akuma or even a Noah. My foes are not yours, you need to stay here and do your job while I do mine.”  
“But you’re an exorcist too!”  
“Yes, I am an exorcist. But I’m a princess with a duty to fulfill first.” I paused for a moment before deciding that I would have to force them. Having stubborn friends is the worst thing ever sometimes.   
“Somnus [1].” I muttered and waved my hand over their faces, watching with a small bit of guilt as they slumped to the floor. I turned to Kerillia.  
“Change their memories then talk them back to the Order.” I turned and found Kanda staring at me with a straight face so I wasn’t sure what he was thinking about.  
“Will you go with them? You can go back with them or stay, it’s your choice.” A smirk broke out across his face and for a second I was confused.  
“I already said I wouldn’t leave you. So why did you even ask? I’m going with you.” I smiled lightly.  
“Thank you. We’ll have to wait till they get back before we can do anything. Hopefully the memory manipulation spell will hold for a while.”   
“What will their memories be replaces with?”  
“An alternate path in which you find me dead instead of barely alive and they fight the Noah themselves while you continued to look for the innocence. They’ll wake up at the Order and hopefully be too impacted with the thought of my death to wonder how they got back.”  
“Seems a little intense, but it makes sense.” I nodded and began walking away.  
“Where are you going?”  
“I need new clothes; these ones are soaked in salt and are really uncomfortable.” I smiled at the footsteps that echoed my own as I walked out of the ruins and towards the town in search of better clothes.  
***  
After I managed to get a hold of a decent outfit, I returned to the palace, or what was left of it, with Kanda. He seemed to be staring at me though; he had been for a few minutes now. I tugged on the strings of the arm bracers that now hid the green crosses in my wrists before finally turned to look at him, but the second our eyes met he turned away. I laughed at his reaction and he glared at me, which only made me laugh harder. He rolled his eyes and pushed me away lightly, but I just smiled back at him.   
We fell into silence as we entered the ruins of the once beautiful place I had called home; a home that was reduced to rubble.   
“You know, I remember a time, long ago, when my father would constantly be scolding me for being too loud in the corridors. But it was usually Ash’s fault, he loved playing tag and hide and seek with the others. Is almost impossible to think that a massive palace has fallen to ruin in so few years.” I didn’t notice that I was crying until Kanda wiped away the tears that were falling down my cheeks.  
“Don’t worry, we’re going to find your family and make sure that the people that are responsible are dealt with. I’ll be here with you the entire way, alright?” I nodded happily and smiled up at him. He smiled back and cupped the back of my head with one hand and slowly leaned forward, I did the same and left my eyes close, enjoying the blissful feeling of his lips on mine and the spark that shot through me.   
A cough interrupted the moment and we both sprang apart, blushing madly. I looked over at Kerillia who was giggling and Kaven who was glaring at Kanda.   
“That was so adorable~! Sorry, did we interrupt?” I shot Kerillia a playful glare before grabbing Kanda’s hand and heading to the dimension room without replying to my younger sister. It was time to start looking for the others. I hope it doesn’t take long. And I hope I don’t regret letting Kanda come with us.


	16. First World

The dimension room: basically a large circular room with an onyx pedestal in front of a large crystal gate.   
“Why would anyone need a giant crystal gate in the middle of a palace?” Kanda paused at the entrance while I continued into the large room.   
“Even I really don’t know why. I guess it was so that the people could escape quickly in case of a disaster of some sort. I guess that’s how it worked out, huh, Hamirial?”   
“Yes, my lady.” Kanda shot a glance at the silver haired male that was now standing just a few feet to his left.   
“How long have you been here?”  
“A few seconds.” He answered. I laughed lightly and Kerillia giggled beside me while Kaven simply rolled his eyes.   
“Hamirial, you know how to work the dimension gate control, right?”  
“I do, my lady.” I nodded and waved Kanda forward to me. He stood on my right while Kaven and Kerillia stood on my left; all of us stood between the podium and the gate. I turned back to Hamirial.  
“Let’s start with finding Sapphiria and Sebastian.” He nodded and laid his hand on the smooth surface of the rock. A few seconds later the gate filled up with what looked like silver but settled into a smooth, reflective surface, much like a mirror.   
“Step through the gate and it should put you within five miles of their location, I can’t get you any closer, I’m sorry.”   
“That’s fine. Let’s go.” I didn’t know I was shaking, not until Kanda grabbed my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. I took a hesitant step forwards but stopped halfway before turning back to Hamirial.  
“Wait, how do we get back?” A ghost of a smile flickered over his lips.  
“Find a mirror, and step through it. That’s all.”   
“Right… ok, now we can go.” I turned back and lunged through the mirror, not giving myself any time to hesitate and pulling Kanda with me at the same time. For an instant, I felt weightless, but then my stomach dropped and I felt like I was underwater, unable to breath. It ended and I felt myself fall to the ground rather painfully. A ‘thud’ followed seconds after and I knew that Kanda had hit the ground beside me followed by my siblings. Standing, I brushed the dust off my pants and glanced up at all the people that were walking around; apparently they hadn’t noticed the four strange people that had fallen from a mirror onto the sidewalk. I was fairly confused, seeing as these people were dressed just like the ones back in our own dimension. The first place that came to my mind was London; everything reminded me of London.   
I sighed in slight irritation; if we wanted to make this trip quick, we would have to find different clothes to blend in and move faster. That would also include me having to wear a dress of some sort along with Kerillia, and Kaven wearing a suit. Kanda was fine, except for the coat, which would have to be changed. Luckily there was a clothing store just across the street from where were had been spat out of the mirror.   
“Come on, we’re gonna need different clothes.” I dashed across the street with the others close behind. I found a dress for Kerillia while she picked one out for me as well as a suit for Kaven. I eventually found a trench coat that would fit Kanda as well as hide Mugen. I exchanged my jewelry for the closes and we left quickly, eager to find my siblings and leave. Kerillia pulled my hair into a messy bun with a few strands on the sides like hers while the two males messed with their clothes, mainly Kaven since he never liked wearing fancy things.  
We walked down the street, talking about where we should look first but it seemed as though our actual chances at finding them were slim to none with all these people around. Almost like she had read my thoughts, Kerillia spoke up and suggested that we look after nightfall. We all agreed and ended up walking around for a few hours and stopping to get food from a small shop. It was there that we found our first clue as to where to search for the elusive twins. The shop owner was apparently familiar with Sapphiria and mistook Kerillia for her because of the unusual blue hair. When we asked if she was with anyone she said that she was always accompanied by a much taller man with brown hair and I knew that it was indeed Sahhiria and Sebastian.   
The kind owner of the house offered us rooms to stay in for the night so that we could find the twins in the morning when they usually stopped by, and we gratefully accepted. She even let us borrow nightclothes, which we also accepted with the promise of returning them first thing in the morning. The black silk nightdress was thin but comfortable for the cool night air that flowed through the open window of the room that Kerillia and I were to share while Kanda and Kaven were just across the hall. At first Kerillia had hoped that I would be in the same room as Kanda but then Kaven had fiercely objected to that arrangement and instead insisted that either he or Kerillia shared the room with me.   
I giggled at the recent memory of Kaven and Kanda glaring at each other as we discussed the topic but it soon faded as darker thoughts invaded my mind. I pushed the thoughts back and instead focused on the bright star lite sky overhead, counting the glowing dots with my arms resting on the window sill until a flash of crimson slammed into the wall beside the window, causing me to jump back in surprise and instinctively activate my innocence. It was then that the thing spoke, revealing it to actually be a person.  
“Bassy, that wasn’t very nice! You might have made me hit this poor beauty in the window!” I edged towards the open window, thankful that Kerillia was in the bath right now, and flinched as a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me out the window into the speaker’s arms. I glanced over the person only to discover that he had a strange obsession with red judging by his hair, coat, and glasses, his eyes were a bright green while his teeth were inhumanly sharp. I struggled to get out of his grip only to discover that it was as solid and unyielding.   
“Put me down this instant!! How dare you drag me out a window! Who drags girls out of a f*cking window?!” I glared daggers up at him but the most he did was chuckle.   
“My my, what a dirty mouth you have, my dear. She reminds me of you, Bassy! So straightforward and serous!”   
“Let the girl go Grell, she has nothing to do with this.” Another figure stepped onto the opposite rooftop and I saw that it was a raven haired man dressed in what looked to me like a butler’s outfit. His crimson eyes glared dangerously at Grell, the man holding onto me. They continued their verbal bickering while I thought of how I was going to get out of this situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, you can find the outfit that i use for this story on Polyvore.com my username is ShadowMistWolf and you should be able to tell which sets go with this story because i make a collection of them.


	17. Shock

I glared up at the man who had pulled me from the window as he continued his argument with the black clad butler. I clenched my fist and let the ice of my innocence wrap itself over them before straight up punching my captor it the jaw, successfully making him drop me onto the roof while he yelled in pain. The butler looked slightly confused as I stood up and brushed the dirt from the nightdress after deactivating and removing the ice from my hands.  
“I told you to put me down; I hate it when people don’t listen to me.”  
“Bassy!! She hit! And it hurt!”  
“It’s a punch, it’s supposed to hurt, idiot.” The butler looked me up and down, and then his eyes seemed to flash in a strange way before returning to normal.  
“Well, she’s a normal human-”  
“Wrong!” I cut him off with a shout and a gesture while he looked at me questioningly.  
“Oh? Then what are you?” I opened my mouth to speak but three others did it for me.  
“She’s an exorcist.”  
“She’s an heiress.”  
“She’s the most powerful girl you’ll ever meet.” Kanda, Kerillia, and Kaven stepped up behind me, weapons ready. I sighed and said in a fake irritated tone,  
“Took ya long enough, what kept you?” Kanda and Kaven glared at each other and said at the same time:  
“He was stalling.” Kerillia laughed.  
“They started arguing.” I rolled my eyes and returned my attention back to the two strangers.  
“Next time you feel like dragging a girl out of a window, make sure she doesn’t have friends that’ll kill you if they got the chance.”  
I turned to leave with the others but the butler spoke and I stopped.  
“A moment, miss?” I turned and jumped back, seeing as he was directly behind me now, but he grabbed my wrist and turned it up to show the cross that glowed ever so faintly.  
“What are these, if I may ask?”  
“A weapon. Now let me go.” I glared once more but he simply smiled and his grip tightened in challenge. So I activated my innocence, letting the ice grow in the blink of an eye so that it covered my hand and wrist as well as his in the familiar thick layer of ice. His eyes widened in shock as he gaped at the ice that immobilized his hand.  
“How…?” I broke the ice that formed between our hands, keeping his frozen and mine clawed while I jumped back towards Kanda. I expected him to be frantic about it, but to my surprise, he was rather calm. He only showed confusion.  
“Strange. I cannot break it.”  
“Of course not. Innocence is indestructible and that ice won’t go away until I want it to.” He was about to respond when the red head spoke up, I had almost forgotten about him.  
“That’s not the only strange thing. She’s not in the records and neither are the other three.”  
“Which means…”  
“They aren’t supposed to exist. Not here at least.” Grell finished, tapping the book in his hands to his chin. I smirked despite myself.  
“‘Not here at least’.” I echoed his own words as I turned to walk away once more. This time neither of them stopped me and the others simply followed me back into the house where the woman was searching for us. After reassuring her that it was nothing of importance, we all went to bed in our rooms without any other disturbances.  
***  
The next day, Kerillia and I opted for dresses that were easier to move around in with coats to hide them since they weren’t exactly considered lady-like. Kanda and Kaven wore the same thing they had on yesterday though. We were more wary of our surroundings since the accident last night; we were lucky it ended without a fight but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t come back to start one.  
We sat down in two booths on either side of the small shop, waiting for my siblings to arrive like the woman said they would. The shop was small but seemed to have quite a good reputation considering how familiar the woman was with almost every person that walked through the doors. My eyes widened and I almost spit out my tea when I saw the pair that walked in the doors next.  
It was the butler from the other night, he was accompanying a young boy with navy hair and an eye patch covering one eye while the other was also a deep blue.  
“Earl Phantomhive, how good it is to see you again. What can I get for you this fine day?” The Earl said something I couldn’t hear before sitting down at a nearby table. A table too close to me and Kanda for my liking. I probably could have reached out and touched him if I wanted, of course I wouldn’t though. His butler stood behind him as the boy sipped at his own cup of tea, Earl Grey by the scent of it. I nearly jumped when he spoke but I kept a straight face and listened closely, knowing that he was speaking to me without turning.  
"My butler tells me you have quite the ability, Madame. A unique gift I have never heard of before.”  
“Please do get to the point, I’m on important business.”  
“I know who you’re looking for.” My eyes widened but I had to make sure he was speaking the truth before jumping to any conclusions.  
“Oh?”  
“You’re twin siblings. I happen to know them both quite well, Sapphiria has quite a temper but Sebastian always convinces her not to break anything.” I sweat dropped at his accurate description of them both but composed myself before I could say anything I would regret.  
“And?”  
“They’ve been kidnapped.” My tea almost slipped from my hand and I registered what he said. I went to jump from my seat and demand an explanation but he spoke before I could do anything.  
“Stay calm. I’ve been working on finding them for quite some time. That’s why my butler was near that house last night. The woman who owns this establishment has been kidnapping people off the streets for a while now, the only thing stopping me from calling the Yard and having her arrested is the lack of evidence. If you want to see your siblings again I suggest you help me find out where she keeps her victims. My butler had a key made that should open every door in the building, find out whatever you can then meet me here tomorrow morning. Don’t be late.”  
“Very well, I’ll do it. Thank you.”  
“Don’t thank me yet, we still have to find them.” He set down the finished tea and walked out of the shop, waving in farewell to the owner before vanishing into the street. But before they left, the butler slipped and key into my hand without being seen and followed his master. I gripped the key and continued to finish my own drink as Kanda watched me carefully, an unanswered question in his eyes. I smiled lightly at him, showing him I was fine. I stood from my seat with Kanda and he grabbed my hand as I told the woman we were going to see if they were roaming any of the nearby streets as Kaven and Kerillia waited at the shop for a little while longer before they were supposed to find us.  
I gripped Kanda’s hand and the key as we walked. We took one step forwards and now two steps back.


	18. Discovery

*Kanda’s P.O.V.*  
I walked out of the store, leaving Kerillia and Kaven inside with Kaven glaring holes in my head. I rubbed my neck a little; glad that such a small injury would be healed in a small while. I glanced around the crowds that lingered just outside as I sat down at one of the outdoor tables, it wasn’t exactly the quietest place, but it would have to do for a little while.   
People glanced at me as they passed but I paid them no mind until one decided to sit down in the chair opposite me after coming out of the shop. I glanced up for a second to find that it was the same person as it was yesterday.   
“Where’s your friend?”  
“Sick and searching.” I said the last part quietly enough so that only he could hear.  
“I see. Tell me, do you know what that strange power of hers is?”  
“I do, but I don’t think you should know.” I could his eyes narrow at me but I wasn’t fazed one bit.  
“And who are you to decide that?”  
“Look, your butler doesn’t scare me and never will. I’ve been to hell and back; if I don’t want someone to know something, they won’t know it.” I glared over at the small boy, and noticed that the butler was lunging towards me. I drew Mugen from my coat and it clashed with the knives that the black clad man had tried to attack me with. Mugen’s sharp edge had nearly cut them in half, probably surprising the butler and the earl.   
I swung Mugen and watched as the butler jumped back from my attack. Many people now stared and muttered things as they went past, most likely confused as to why two people were fighting and one of them had a strange looking sword. But I really couldn’t care less; if this guy wanted to fight, I’ll fight him.   
it looked like he was about to jump me again but the Earl jumped from his chair and slammed his hands down loudly.  
“Enough! We’re leaving.”   
“Yes, young master.” in a flash the silverware had disappeared inside his jacket and they were heading to a carriage that had pulled up a little ways away.   
“I’ll be back tomorrow.” And then they were gone, leaving me with a crowd of staring people.   
***   
*Aqua’s P.O.V.*   
I heard a faint ‘click’ as the ice from my innocence formed the correct shape and unlocked the hidden door. I pulled it up slowly, in case the hinges were noisy but I mentally slapped myself when I remembered that I would have heard it last night if it had made any noise. I pulled the counter back as far as I could before I closed the trapdoor, cutting off all light and sealing myself down under the floor in an unknown place. the crosses in my wrists glowed a faint green, giving the space an even creepier look.  
I stepped down the ladder rungs, slowly but surely making my way down to where I could only guess a hidden basement was located. The heels of my boots tapped on the wood of the floor as I stepped from the ladder, creeping silently down the barely visible corridor.   
“D@mn it, I can’t see anything!! Discute tenebras lucem hanc in malum, et ostendam me inimicus meus!” The light from my hand grew bright as I shot it from my hand down the passage, showing nothing but wood before it reached a large room and coming back to me. I reached the room and moved the light to the low ceiling, its light illuminating the entire space. I cringed at the site. cages lined the walls, some had rust on them while others had rotting meat and bones still in their confines. Bile rose in my throat at the smell as my eyes found the decaying corpse of what looked to be a woman hanging from the wall by chains, the corpse was mutilated beyond recognition but I knew that it at least wasn’t Sapphiria.   
Across the room was another door, this one didn’t have a lock thankfully. I slowly pushed the wood, opening it a crack before letting it swing open. I tossed the light ball once more and it illuminated another room of cages, but this one had two tables in the center. to the side of both was a smaller table covered in knives, needles, and other torture devise from what I could guess.   
Something scuffed against the floor behind me and I whipped around only to be tackled roughly to the ground with something sharp being stabbed into my side, making me cry out lightly before shoving the person off and away from my as hard as I could. I pushed myself up and grasped the handle of the kitchen knife that was slowly draining the blood from my body. I released the handle, leaving it in the wound, and focused on the ball of light floating above me. I brought it down focused the light on the face of my attacker, revealing it to be Marry herself.   
“I knew you’d find this place soon enough. That d@mn Earl has been trying to find me out for years now. Looks like he got close this time, but his hopes will die with you!” She grabbed a wicked looking blade from one of the carts and lunged at me, swiping the deadly object through the air. I rolled to the side and froze me hand, grasping the knife before it struck my now protected palm. I focused and the ice quickly crawled over the knife and onto her arm, covering her hand before she could even try and react.   
“W-what is this!! Let me go!! How are you doing this?!” She grabbed her arm, attempting to break the ice’s hold on her arm but instead I just froze her hand while it grasped her arm.   
“I’m here for my brother and sister. Tell me where they are and I’ll let you go.”   
“Forget it b*tch! I won’t tell you anything! Ha! Looks like your precious sibling will rot here with me!” I narrowed my eyes and let the ice leave my hands and instead through the woman backwards, watching her hit the wall and fall to the ground but I caught her before she could stab herself with the knife. I made more ice and froze her hands to the ground. She yelled and cursed at me, but I ignored her as I moved about the room, looking in each cage with my light ball with one hand pressing my wound together to try and stop the blood that flowed from around the blade.   
I grit my teeth as I ripped the knife out and covered my injury in ice before heading to the next door. I kicked the door down and was slightly satisfied when I heard a collection of gasps and a slight scream. I brushed my hair away from my face and walked into the room, seeing yet another space of cages, but this time some of them contained moving figures.   
“Took ya long enough!!!” I jumped slightly at the sudden outburst and swung to my left, seeing a familiar head of blue hair.  
“Well it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world.”  
“Just get us out of here before I drown you!” I giggled, I knew her threat was just for play, but if she had the chance, she really would try it.   
“Where’s Sebastian?”  
“Here.” A voice from behind cut off any reply from Sapphiria as figure slumped against her from behind, forcing her to grasp the bars of the cage to stop herself from falling into them.   
“I already gave you the last of the food I hid on me so don’t go fallen asleep on me now you idiot!!” I laughing and unlocked the cage before turning to the others as well.


	19. The Next Step

*3rd Person P.O.V.*   
People rushed back and forth around the small shop, most of them police from the Yard. The Earl Phantomhive stood a ways back with his butler by his side as he watched a woman be dragged away with handcuffs holding her arms behind her. A short girl with long blue hair, Sapphiria, followed the train of police out of the building with Aqua and Sebastian right after them. Kaven and Kerillia ran up to the three of them and began shouting and laughing as they embraced each other.   
Aqua was laughing until someone wrapped an arm around her and pulled her away from the others without them noticing her. She was about to freak out but stopped at the sight of Kanda’s familiar face. He caught her glance and tossed her up slightly, repositioning her with an arm under her knees and her shoulders.   
“Kanda!?” She yelled in slight embarrassment.   
“You’re injured again.” She glanced down at the patch of ice that still covered her side and sweat-dropped at the fact that she forgot she got stabbed.   
“It’s nothing to serious, I’m fine.”   
“If your siblings see you they’re going to freak out though.”  
“Huh?”   
“You’re supposed to be pregnant, remember?”   
“Oh yeah.” He rolled his eyes at the girl in his arms but stopped for a second to lean down and kiss her, leaving her red-faced while he chuckled and continued walking. He set her down at a café table not too far away and pulled a roll of bandages out of one of his coat pockets, quickly wrapping them around her wound before anyone noticed the injury. He replaced the roll inside his pocket and sat down on the chair that had been behind him.  
“So what now?”  
“We have to go back to Hamirial and then I think we’ll be going after the quadruplets next. They most likely set off two groups of two, so it might be a little harder tracking them down, but I won’t know for sure until we get back.”  
“We’re going home now?” Aqua’s brown eyes widened slightly and glanced to the side to see a small smile replacing the normal scowl that Sapphiria always wore. She nodded in confirmation and returned the smile just as the others came up to them as well. Kaven sent a small glare at Kanda who saw but dismissed it without a second thought, knowing that it the blue haired male made a move Aqua would kill him herself.   
“Well than, what are we waiting for?! A formal invitation!?!? Let’s go!” Sapphiria yanked Aqua from her seat and took off in some random direction, obviously not knowing where she was supposed to go.   
“It’s the other way.”  
“Oh… I knew that!” She rushed back in the opposite direction and soon enough was caught by Sebastian. Kerillia laughed slightly and glanced behind her at the large square mirror that they would most likely be using.   
“Aqua, we can use this, right?” She gestured to the mirror and Aqua nodded in response, grabbing Kanda’s hand as she walked to the mirror and placed her hand on it, satisfied when it slipped through it like it was water. Kanda gave her hand a slam squeeze before stepping into the liquid glass with her. 

*Aqua’s P.O.V.*   
I reopened my eye to see Hamirial standing in front of us, just like he had been when we left.   
“Welcome back.” Sebastian and Sapphiria were glancing around at the familiar room, but the age of it was older than what they had expected I’m sure. I smiled at the silver haired male before Sapphiria grabbed my attention.   
“Why is everything so crumbled and dry??” I couldn’t help but feel a little sad, but I knew there was no avoiding the topic.   
“Because we’re on land; the palace was drawn up from the sea.” Confusion clouded her eyes before the realization dawned on her.  
“But that means…”  
“That Father and Mother have both passed, and a new queen must be crowned.” Sebastian finished his twin’s sentence with a sad tone as he looked at me along with the others.   
“So that’s why we’re gathering. Only with the seven rings can the coronation be sealed and the queen resumed the throne.” I nodded slowly.  
“Yes, but the threat of the Kateria is large and we need the power of the Zodiac to defeat them once and for all. I fear there is no other way, if they defeat us they will move on to destroy the rest of humanity.” My thoughts were racing at this point and I couldn’t focus.   
“Let’s handle the rings first, and make sure your family is safe before going up against these Kateria.” Kanda spoke, and at the sound of his voice my thoughts seemed to stop all at once and focus on him. I smiled lightly and gripped his hand a little tighter, him doing the same.  
“Sounds like plan then. Where to next then?” Kaven and Sapphiria spoke in unison and proceeded to glare at each other for a second before turning to Hamirial suddenly.   
“It seems as though Lords Geon and Feron are close together.”  
“Perfect, we can head there next then.”  
“My Lady, I know of your preferences to certain clothing but what you wear now is not suited for the place where the Lords resign.” I glanced down at the black corset and skirt before glancing over at the others. I couldn’t say I was surprised at all; we were dimension hopping after all.  
“Well then we’ll get clothes when we get there.”  
“Or we can find Mother’s secret closet, she did like keeping clothes from her dimension travels. Until she stopped anyway.” Kerillia spoke up and began walking to the door. I had known that Mother used to take trips to the different dimensions, but what I didn’t know was that she had a secret closet that I never found.  
“Mother had a secret closet?!” Kerillia simply smirked and walked out the door and down the hall, leaving the rest of us to run after her and Hamirial to follow slower that we did.  
“Did you know that Mother had a secret closet?” I asked Sapphiria as we ran after our sister.  
“No! I didn’t even know we had a dimension room until the invasion!” I sighed, shaking my head as Kerillia stopped to push open the doors that led to our parents private quarters. I glanced around; the familiar feeling of the room nearly had me lost in memories until I felt a pressure around my hand bring me back. I glanced up at Kanda, smiling reassuringly at the concern in his dark eyes. I glanced at the others and Hamirial, seeing that they were distracted by the secret entrance that had revealed itself after Kerillia pulled down on one if the book corners that stood alone on the otherwise bare shelf that used to house the few favorite books of our mother.  
I pulled Kanda from the room, not saying a word at his confused face, before I wrapped one arm around him to pull him down slightly and kiss him. He was a little surprised but kissed me back after a second. We pulled apart and I smiled.  
“You have no idea how happy I am that you’re here with me.”  
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He replied with a smile of his own before kissing me again.


	20. Chapter 20

Well, Mother’s closet was a lot bigger than any of us had expected, except for Kerillia, she apparently knew about this place before any of us. I glanced around at the chests of clothes, each had its own label and the contents of each varied between some while others were similar in some ways. Hamirial had pointed out the chest that would hold clothes best suited for the next realm we were going to travel to. I tried to convince Kanda to try some stuff on but it seemed that even I wouldn’t be able to persuade him to abandon his exorcist uniform. He did, however, pick out something for me to wear and I must admit that he knew how to pick clothes. He also dragged me away to change the wrappings on my wound, securing the stark white bandages before we continued on.   
While we waited for the others to pick out clothes, Kanda and I returned to the dimension room to see what Hamirial was doing, since he had returned long before we had. He didn’t look up at out arrival; he had his full attention focused on the screen that flashed with symbols of our language.   
“I have the next location locked in; it’s ready when you are, My Lady.” I nodded and we stood in silence for a few minutes before the others returned to the room. We gathered around as the crystals glowed faintly and Hamirial finally looked up.   
“We may proceed, if you are ready.” I nodded to him and the mirror shimmered for a second before stilling once more. I took a deep breath and grabbed Kanda’s hand, walking forwards into the surface and letting it enclose around me once more.  
The surrounding we stepped into was rather strange to say the least; a mirror located in the middle of a very dark and creepy forest. Shudders ran up the length of my spine at the musky smell of death and darkness that seemed to engulf us in an invisible mist. Kanda already had Mugen unsheathed and the others all had weapons at the ready, I myself had my hands covered in ice, prepared to attack just about anything that moved. A twig snapped nearby and everyone tensed even more so. Kanda’s side was pressed against my own as a figure emerged into the light; it looked to be an older man, with an unbelievably long gray beard.   
“It seems you’ve wondered into the wrong part of the forest. Please follow me; this isn’t the most pleasant place to hold a discussion.” I stood for a second, debating to go with this man or not. Finally deciding that there wasn’t much of a choice, I released my invocation and stood straight once more.   
“First, what’s your name?”  
“My name is Albus, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. I’m the headmaster of the school that owns these grounds, so you can simply call me Professor if you wish.” I nodded.  
“I apologize for trespassing; however, we couldn’t exactly help where we appeared.”  
“I understand, there was no harm done.” I glanced behind me at the others to see that Kanda was the only one with his weapon out, but he wasn’t posed to attack, so that was good. Turning back, I gestured for him to lead the way to where ever he was going to take us. With that, we followed him through the forest and eventually ended up at the largest school building I have probably ever seen. Even the Black Order couldn’t compare to this place. And it looked even bigger on the inside. I glanced at Kanda to see him stared with his usual passive expression, but his eyes gave away the spark of curiosity that we were all feeling. I couldn’t help but giggle slightly which made him shoot me a look to which I just shook my head.   
We kept walking and soon enough stood before a rather majestic statue of an eagle around which a staircase curled up but then stopped. He motioned or us to join him so we all walked forward. He said something I didn’t quite catch before the staircase began to move up. The sudden motion took me by surprise and I ended up clutching Kanda’s arm. He glanced down at me with an amused smirk while the Professor looked back with a light chuckle. Regaining my balance, I released my hold on Kanda as my crimson blush faded. The stairs finally stopped and we exited into a large book filed office.   
“So, may I know your names?” I focused my attention back on the Professor who was walking around to a large desk.  
“My name is Aquarius, or Aqua. There are my sisters Kerillia and Sapphiria. My brothers Kaven and Sebastian. And Kanda.” I gestured to each of them and they bowed slightly, except Kanda who nodded.   
“I see, and what are you looking for, if I may ask?”  
“My brothers Geon and Feron; I don’t know their exact location, but they have to be somewhere close by.” He nodded slightly.   
“There are quite a few students attending this school, so if your brothers are here, they will be here tomorrow when the new year starts. In the meantime, you are welcome to stay in one of the dorms and search for them when the train arrives tomorrow at noon.”  
“Thank you very much, Sir.” He simply nodded before calling someone to lead us to the Gryffindor dorm room or something by that name. This was a strange place, but at least if Feron and Geon are here, we’ll find them sooner or later.


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning was spent walking around until the evening when all the students would be here. The castle was huge and it took a little while to get used to the magic that surrounded it. While the professor hadn’t told us directly that it was a school for magic, the shifting stair, floating candles, and talking painting kind of gave it away. We had met all the teachers the same morning, and it was safe to say that Snape didn’t really like us much and that Umbridge lady gave me a feeling that I didn’t like. She wore straight up pink and her smile was so fake and easy to see through.   
But apparently it was out of the Professor’s authority since it was some ministry that sent her to teach the defense against the dark arts class. It was hard for me to be annoyed at people, but she was one of the few whose very presence was reason enough to be annoyed. Kanda had already caught on to my odd behavior around the pink woman and did whatever he could to keep me out of the same room.   
Everything had been going well…but then Kerillia had to bring up something that I had almost forgotten about. I had been sitting outside in the courtyard alone; Kanda had gone back in to fetch something, when my blue haired sister took a seat next to me.   
“How’ve you been? Has your morning sickness gotten better?” I shot her a total look of confusion before I realized just what she was talking about.   
“Oh… um about that… I wanted to talk to you and Kaven about that… could you go get him please? Kanda should be on his way back soon too.” She lifted a brow before nodding and heading off inside, knowing exactly where her twin was. A few seconds after she disappeared, Kanda was heading towards me. He took a seat and pulled me to him with an arm around my shoulders.   
“Kanda…”  
“I said that you can call me Yu.” I couldn’t help but giggle at his light scold.  
“Ok, Yu, Kerillia asked about ‘it’.”  
“’It’?” He looked at me in confusion, mirroring mine from just moments before.   
“You remember how we had to come up with that little lie back in the last world?”  
“Oh.”   
“Yeah…” I stared down at my shoes for a minute as we sat in silence, broken only when he spoke again.  
“Are you going to tell them it was a lie?”  
“Yeah, there isn’t much point in lying anymore.” He nodded just as Kerillia reappeared with Kaven right behind him.  
“Did something happen, Aquarius?” Kaven was the first to speak, shooting a small glare at Kanda, still angry at him. In response, Kanda’s arm tightened around my shoulders in a reassuring way. I took a deep breath as my siblings stood before us.  
“Kerillia, I wasn’t actually pregnant. It was a lie so that Marry would be so suspicious of me being alone. I used that opportunity to see for Sapphiria and Sebastian.” Kaven smirked while Kerillia stared at me.  
“I knew he didn’t have the guts.” Kanda shot him a look.  
“Just because she isn’t pregnant doesn’t mean we haven’t done anything.” My face flushed bright red as Kanda shot a triumphant smirk at Kaven’s infuriated expression.   
“W-we haven’t done anything like that!” I yelled, my face obviously still crimson, as Kanda chuckled and Kerillia held Kaven by the back of his shirt. I whacked Kanda’s arm lightly, which only made him chuckle even more as Kerillia dragged Kaven a few feet away just as Sapphiria and Sebastian walked in on the scene.   
“The heck are you people doing?” As usual, Sebastian was half asleep and Sapphiria was glaring.  
“Nothing!! Absolutely nothing!! I’m going for walk!” I dashed away, leaving the others to stare at my retreating form in confusion mixed with slight worry. My feet took me to the main bridge that connected the castle to the outer grounds before I finally stopped. I could feel the heat slowly leave my face as I stood with my arms crossed on the rail of the massive bridge. The depths below me seemed to stretch on forever, an abyss much like the one that our city had once occupied, except this one was smaller. Much smaller. I focused on my brown locks instead of the gaping darkness as I ran a few strands threw my hand. The color was so much different than the vibrant blue that had overtaken it when I invoked my ring. I stood in complete silence until the sound of heels clicking on wood reached my ears. I didn’t look up as the irritating voice of Delores Umbridge pierced the silence to replace the clicking.   
“I understand that the Professor has given you permission to roam the grounds freely, but it would be best not to wonder, Ms. Merida, was it?”   
“I understand your concern, but what I do is no business of yours. I know the dangers that lurk here, and I have faced much more powerful evils than these.” I turned around to face her, lips in a set line as we stared glared at each other for a few minutes before the pink woman turned on her heel and walked back in the direction of the castle. I let out an irritated sigh and when to run a hand through my hair but instead found it stuck to the railing. I glanced down and blinked at the layer of ice that had seeped out and covered my hand and everything within a half foot radius. Reining my anger and irritation back in, forcing my innocence to deactivate, I headed towards the school as well, knowing that the students would be arriving soon and the Professor had asked to speak with me before they did. I really couldn’t get over the emotional turmoil that had somehow wormed its way into my head, but it was starting to give me a migraine that I really didn’t need right now.


	22. Chapter 22

The walk through the castle corridors was silent as I made my way to the Professor’s office room. I nervously adjusted my gloves as the stairs moved me closer to my destination before they finally stopped. I stepped through the doorway, taking a breath as I moved closer to the center of the room where the elderly man sat behind the desk. He looked up at my arrival and gestured for me to sit in the chair that faced him. I sat at the edge, clasping my hands in my lap as I waited for him to speak.   
“From what I gather, your siblings are most likely twins, correct?” I nodded in answer.  
“I think I have an idea of who you’re looking for. I’ll have one of the staff escort them to my office before the beginning ceremony so that you can check. I hope that’s efficient enough for you?”  
“Of course, Professor. I can’t thank you enough for your help in this matter. I assure you, it’s of the utmost importance.” He chuckled and smiled while looked at me over the tops of his glasses.  
“Of that, I have no doubt.” He paused for a second before speaking again.  
“The entrance feast will be starting in an hour, which should give you just enough time to find all your companions and bring them here.”  
“Thank you very much, Professor.” He nodded to me before standing and walking out of the room, to prepare for the entrance ceremony I guess, which left me to go and find the others.  
The task wasn’t very hard considering they had all been in the first place I checked, which was the room we had been staying in. Now we were all waiting for whoever was going to walk through the door, and hopefully it would be Geon and Feron. I took to laying on Kanda as he sat against the wall just a ways from the others, I could feel his fingers running through my hair, gently tugging when he snagged a tangle. The soft rhythmic strokes of his hand nearly lulled me to sleep, but a pair of footsteps from the stairway entrance broke me from my stupor. I stood and waited, watching the door just as two boys with very familiar orange hair and identical faces entered. For just a moment, everything had seemed to have frozen as we stared at each other. 

*Kanda’s P.O.V.*  
The silence that consumed the room was like the calm before the storm, especially with Aqua and her siblings. They’re nice for the most part, not that it really concerns me. I leaned casually against the wall, waiting for one of them to move or do something.   
Finally Kerillia squealed loudly and ran at the pair, practically tackling them with a hug, and knocking them both to the floor. Aqua rushed forwards and joined the three already on the floor while the others watched from their places with smiles. Soon enough the trio pulled apart just as a few more people along with the Professor entered the room. A man and woman with red hair along with a few more kids that also had the same hair color, Umbridge, a finally another woman with graying hair.   
“You did say they would come find you.” The twins looked up at the woman, smiling at her.  
“Yeah, thanks for taking care of us all this time.” The woman smiled sadly as Aqua stood up and dusted off her clothes, facing the woman with a smile as well.  
“I’m Aquarius, their eldest sister; I must extend my most heartfelt thanks for looking after my brothers.” I couldn’t help but blink at the formality of it all, but then I remembered that she had been raised a princess. Which also led me to question where the h3ll she learned to talk the way she did when we first met. I broke out of my thoughts and watched her shake the woman’s and man’s hand before she got bombarded with questions from the other red heads there. No one else spoke for a while until Aqua mentioned that they had to leave, that’s when things went wrong.  
“I’m afraid that the Ministry of Magic cannot allow you to leave.” The annoying woman in pink spoke up, stepping forward. I pushed myself from the wall and stood beside Aqua who had turned to face her with irritation written all over her face.  
“And why is that, pray tell?”  
“Due to your unknown intent, we cannot allow you to remove a student from one of the school under the Ministry.” Aqua’s scowl grew and I noticed a thin layer of ice forming over her hand, so I grasped it gently and felt her relax.  
“Technically, I’m taking Geon and Feron Merida, not George and Fred Weasley, so you have no right to oppose me, and if you’re adamant about standing in my way, I’m afraid that violence will ensue.” By now the rest of her siblings had gathered as well, tense and ready for anything.   
The woman frowned deeply, obviously not prepared for the sign of resistance.   
“Any move taken to oppose the ministry will be severely punished.” Aqua laughed from beside me and I couldn’t help but smirk.  
“You know what, I’d love to see what you through at us. Let’s go. Thanks you Professor, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.” She nodded to each before heading out the door, leaving the idiot woman in pink to gap after us without doing anything to stop us either.   
Aqua led the way through the halls of the school until we were outside and headed back into the forest.  
“Do you remember where it is?” I asked, seeing as how everything looked the same in this gloomy forest.  
“Actually, yeah, I do.” She giggled and I smiled back at her, tightening my grip on her hand just a bit and she did the same in return.


	23. Chapter 23

*Still Kanda’s P.O.V.*  
We all stood in the throne room of the ruined palace; Aqua was actually sitting in one the thrones while I leaned against the side of it, listening to them all talk about what their next move would be. After a few minutes though the conversation had drifted to how Aqua and I had met. It was mostly the new twins that were asking since they had yet to hear the full story about it. It didn’t help that the first thing that had gotten them interested in the matter was when Kaven brought up the fake pregnancy to them.  
“Way to get some dude.” The red heads said to me at the same time and I nearly took off their heads if it hadn’t been for Aqua holding me back by the sleeve of my jacket.  
“We didn’t actually do anything! Did you have to bring that up, Kaven?! We need to focus on the task at hand, we still have to find the others, and I think the best way to do that is to split up unto pairs, there are enough of us that each should be able to find the others. Kanda and I can find Ash, Kerillia and Kaven will find Chance and Covack, Sapphiria and Sebastian can get Emelda and Equius, Geon and Feron will find Lyric.” She paused for a second before naming the last girl, almost as if she had intended to say something else. It took me a moment before I remembered that she had found the corpse of another mermaid that called herself her sister. She hadn’t told the others yet it seemed.   
“Aquarius, we have to find Liena too ya know, don’t go forgetting about the youngest of us.” Geon spoke up and I shot him a look as Aqua tensed up beside me, so I grabbed her hand gently and squeezed it lightly.   
“I’m not forgetting anyone. Liena is dead. I found her body when I found the palace. I have her ring, but we still need Lyric to represent the Southern Ice in the ceremony…She’s in my room unless Hamirial took her to the Room of Reminiscence.” Without another word, she tugged me out of the room with her and headed down a few different hall ways until we reached a flooded courtyard. Leaves and long dead flowers littered the surface of the murky sea water. She took a seat on a bench and I sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into me, gently placing a kiss on her head.   
“Yu?” I hummed in response, letting her know to go on.  
“Am I doing the right thing?”  
“How do you mean?”  
“Gathering the rings into a single place. The Kateria must know that I’m alive and that I’ll gather them to return the rule of the seas back to its rightful place, but what if it’s a trap! I could be leading my siblings to their deaths, just like Liena!” She trembled as she cried, tears soaking into my jacket. I pulled her into my lap, letting her cry for a while until the trembling died down a bit before grasping her shoulders and pushing her back just enough to look into her eyes dead on.  
“You are doing what you think is best. I have no doubt that you are doing anything wrong, and whatever happens from now onward, we will face together. I will support everything you do because I know that you will always put your family first. We may not have been together long, but I swear that I won’t let anything happen to you or anyone else.” I could feel a light blush forming from the words I was saying. I stared into Aqua’s chocolate brown eyes, panicking slightly when I saw more tears gathering, but I calmed down when I saw the sparkling in her eyes and the smile on her perfect lips. I smiled too, chuckling when she suddenly wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her head into the crook of my neck. After a second she pulled away and kissed me lightly, shifting in my lap so that she was straddling me with my arms around her waists and hers still around my neck.   
“I love you.” Her face went red for a second before it faded and she smiled even wider.  
“I love you too, Yu.” A sniffling sound from the entry to the courtyard caught my attention and Aqua’s as we both looked over. Kerillia stood, half concealed by the doorway with teary eyes and a small smile. As the realization that she’d been caught, Kerillia dropped to the floor.  
“That was so beautiful~!!” Instead of her normal flustering and crimson blush, which I actually found quite adorable, she turned back to me and smile again as her sister continued to sob on the floor.   
“What do you need, sister?” Kerillia stood back up, wiping her tears away.  
“Hamirial found Ash’s location and wanted to know when you wanted to leave. The other have been found too and the rest of us are going to set out right away since it might take us longer to find them than it’ll take you.”  
“Alright, good luck. We’ll set out tomorrow; I think we both need a good rest before going out again.” She nodded in response and disappeared back the way she had come, a slight skip in her step.   
Aqua slouched, resting her head on my chest as my own laid on top of hers. I closed my eyes, listing to our light breathing and the breeze that rustled her hair and mine gently.   
“Yu?” She whispered into the silence.  
“Yes, Aqua?”  
“Can we stay like this, forever?” I chuckled lightly, brushing a hand though her brown hair.  
“Maybe not forever, but for now; we still have a very important job to do.” She nodded and gave a light sigh, shifting to rest her head on my shoulder and straighten out a bit. After a while her breath evened out and I know that she had fallen asleep, so I picked over up and carried her back inside, finding a decent room where the bed wasn’t destroyed to lay her down. I rested myself next to her, an amused smile playing on my lips as she instantly curled up to me, and I slowly fell asleep too.


	24. Bonus Chapter: Kanda’s Birthday

*Note: The setting and story line have been altered for this chapter only!*   
“Kanda’s birthday?”   
“Yeah! We’re gonna through a party for him, and we want you to help out by getting him out of the Order for the day. Take him out to the town or something, ya know?” The brown haired girl looked at Lavi in slight doubt, uncertain of the redhead’s intentions.  
“I guess…”  
“THANKS AQUA!!” He crushed her in a hug before taking off down the hall again, leaving her there, still questioning her decision. Shrugging it off, she headed to the main area of the order, leaning over the edge to try and spot the familiar long haired samurai. Luckily for her, she caught sight of him just a few floors down.  
“Kanda!!” At the sound of his name, he glanced up in time to see the brunette launch herself of the railing and fall towards him. She caught the rail and swung herself up and over it, brushing the dust off her uniform as she stood.   
“The h3ll are you thinking you idiot?!” Kanda whacked her on the head, an irk mark on his own.  
“You don’t just go around jumping like that!” Aqua looked up with teary eyes, shocking Kanda just a bit.  
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to know if you wanted to go into town with me today…” She trailed off, looking down to the ground as Kanda looked on, unsure of what to do.  
“Fine, just don’t go crying alright.” Aqua snapped up with a large smile and sparkles in her eyes.  
“Ok! I’ll meet you at the elevator in 10 ok?”   
“Fine.” He sighed and walked away as Aqua skipped to her own room in the opposite direction.   
Kanda sighed and glanced at the clock on the wall, one more minute and she would be late. He had taken a minute to change out of his usual attire, settling on something a little more casual. Footsteps caught his attention and he looked over, eyes widening. Aqua was walking towards him, hair pulled half back and half down, a black and grey dress with matching gloves and boots.   
“I’m not late, so shall we go?” The sound of her voice broke him from his thoughts and he turned away, blushing heavily, and nodded. The got into the elevator and slowly made their way down to the city, a comfortable silence falling between them. Kanda couldn’t help but stare as Aqua’s hair swayed with every step and the way her dress ruffled in the light breeze. She had her hands clasped behind her back as she walked, staring ahead and occasionally glancing back at her companion, staring slightly since she had never seen him wear something so casual. They reached the bustling town, people walking everywhere and little kids running through the crowds. Out of the blue, Kanda grabbed Aqua’s hand, making her jump.  
“It’d be troublesome to have you getting lost in this crowd.” Aqua blushed but nodded all the same. They looked around the market place, stopping at stall to see what they had. At one stall in particular, Aqua caught Kanda looking at the collection of Japanese style hair ties. Aqua looked around, seeing a small café just down the street.  
“Hey Kanda, do you want to stop and eat? Theres a café just down there, I want to stay a look a little longer so I’ll catch up with you?”  
“I don’t see why not, just don’t make me wait too long and don’t get lost. Got it?” She nodded with a small smile and watched until he was out of sight to turn back to the vendor. She purchase an ebony black with silver, and a crimson red with white hair ties as well as a pair of black arm guard, much like the one Kanda used during his training sessions, but the ones he had now were worn and practically nothing but fabric. At another stall closer to the café, she bought herself a purse to put it all in along with the wallet she had hid in her dress.   
She entered the small building and immediately saw Kanda sitting at a back corner booth where a waitress with long blonde hair was standing near him. Calmly walking towards him, Aqua smile when she caught his eye.  
“I hope I didn’t make you wait long?”  
“Could have been a little faster. What do you want to order, I’ll pay.” The waitress shot me a cold glare to which I gave a calm smile.  
“Just an iced tea please.” The blonde scribbled something down before walking away, slipping and falling on the invisible layer of ice that had trailed down from Aqua’s right had to cover the floor before quickly disappearing when Kanda shot her a look.  
“What?”   
“That was funny, but you shouldn’t use your innocence outside of the Order or missions, it draws attention from the wrong sort.”  
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Kanda nodded and they sat in silence as the waitress returned with a cup of green tea and a cup of iced tea, setting both down on the table before giving Aqua another glare and walking away. Aqua lifted the glass, watching the waitress out of the corner of her eye, halting the motion of the cup to her lips when she saw a smirk cross the blonde’s face before quickly vanishing into a scowl when she put the cut back onto the table. Kanda looked over at her in slight confusion.  
“What’s wrong?”  
“Hmm? Nothing, that waitress just doesn’t like me very much.”  
“Well then have some of mine.” Aqua looked at him with a small amount of surprise as he pushed his cup to her side of the table, a small blush on his cheeks as he faced away from her.  
“Thank you.” She took the cup offered and took a sip of the strong liquid before taking another and setting it back down.  
“I’ve never had green tea before, it’s very different.” Kanda shrugged and put the cup to his own lips, watching Aqua over the edge of the glass. She had begun to play with a lock of her hair while staring out the window, looking at the people that passed by while glancing at him from time to time. After a little while, they left, going back to wondering the market, purchasing a few things here and there before heading back to the Order as the sun began to fall below the horizon.   
The two paused for moment once they stepped out of the elevator.  
“Thanks for today Kanda, I had fun.”  
“Me too.” He gave her a small smile as they went their separate ways to their rooms. Aqua quickly changed out of her dress and into another outfit before taking the gifts she had bought and putting them into a small box that she wrapped in some random black paper she found under her bed.   
With the box in hand, she headed to the cafeteria, which Lavi at the last minute had told Aqua they would hold the party. She heard cheering from outside and guessed that Kanda had already entered to find what awaited him there, so she stood outside for a few more minutes and then silently slipped in the door, meeting Allen almost instantly.  
“Oh, hey Aqua, we were wondering when you’d show up.”  
“Well I’m here now. Was Kanda surprised?” Allen laughed, nodding.  
“Yeah, but he also looked pretty irritated, like usual.” Aqua giggled and bit her fellow exorcist goodbye before heading off to find the blue haired samurai. After a little while and greeting other people, she finally found him sitting at a table with Lavi laughing next to him. The brunette couldn’t help back laugh at the sight as she neared them, but the second Kanda caught sight of her, he practically jumped from the table, grabbed her by the hand and drug her from the crowed and loud room, not stopping until he had slammed the door to his room shut.   
Aqua giggled as the flustered exorcist ran a hand through his hair before his eyes met hers and she stopped giggling.  
“It was Lavi’s idea.” She blurted, not really knowing what else to say in such a situation. Kanda sighed and chuckled, taking a seat on the edge of his bed before gesturing her to do the same which she complied hesitantly to.   
“Oh, here. For you you. Obviously.” She help out the box, a small smile playing on her lips as Kanda took it and opened it, pulling out the hair ties first followed by the arm guards.  
“I saw you looking at them, and I knew that the arm guards you have now are a little worn, so I got you some new ones.” He placed them back into the box with a smile.  
“So that’s why you were late getting to the café.” Aqua laughed a bit, nodding.   
“But I do have one more thing for you.” He quirked an eyebrow at her in confusion, making her giggle more.  
“Close your eyes.” After a second he did so and she proceeded to gently press her lips to his, but as she pulled away, Kanda placed a hand on the back of her neck, drawing her to him in another kiss. As they pulled apart once more, Aqua pressed her forehead to his.  
“Happy Birthday, Yu.”


	25. Chapter 25

*Aqua’s P.O.V.*  
My conscious was lifted from the depths of sleep, but I kept my eyes closed, too comfortably wrapped around my pillow to even care that I could die if an akuma or something else decided to attack me right at this moment. My pillow shifted and something tightened itself around my waist. I forced my eyes open, blinking rapidly to rid myself of the haze before looking up to Yu’s face. I brushed a lock of his long hair to the side as he stirred and opened his eyes.  
“Hey.” Heat rushed to my cheeks at the sound of his deep morning voice.  
“Hey.” I smiled back at him and both of us got up from the bed. I brushed a hand through my chocolate locks and pushed a few behind my ears. I changed into a new set of clothes (http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=166710709) and met Yu down in the dimension room where Hamirial was waiting.   
“I’ve already locked in on Lord Ash’s most recent location, though it seems you may have to track you yourself my Lady.” I nodded.  
“Thank you, Hamirial. We’ll return as soon as possible.” He nodded back and we made our way through the mirror together, emerging in a forest; though this one was bright, the exact opposite of the forest we had previously encountered. It was also more tropical and hot than anything else. Glad that I had chosen lighter clothing, but still cautious of burning under the hot sun, I moved through the trees and towards the sound of water with Yu following close behind. We broke the tree line and we were met by the ocean, the calm water reflected the clear blue sky and the light of the sun danced over the top to create the perfect shimmer to complete it. The sight was absolutely captivating and I forgot about everything, focused on nothing else but the waves rushing up the shore onto the sand.   
Without much thought, I kicked my shoes off and ran down to the beach of soft sand. I heard Yu yell my name, but I ignored it as I stepped into reach of the frigid water, yelping a bit at the cold before walking until I was knee deep. I laughed a bit splashing the water around me in a childlike glee until I noticed something else. It was a small white, butterfly like creature or bird. There were many of them fluttering through the air as I returned to the sand where Yu was waiting with a smile of his own.   
“I wonder what these are.” I held out my hand and one of the glowing creatures settled down on my palm.  
“I’ve never seen anything like it before, it must be unique to this place.”   
“Quite right.” A new voice appeared out of the blue. Kanda and I turned quickly to face the newcomer, Yu’s hand grasping the handle of Mugen as I readied myself to use innocence just in case. It was a rather strangely dressed man, his light blue eyes and platinum blonde hair stood out against the deep emerald and white of his clothes. He also wore a large hat and held a rod of wood leisurely against his side.   
“Who are you?”   
“My name is Yunan; I’m one of the four magi here in this world. These creatures are called Rukh, they brought me here.” It was then that I noticed he was surrounded by a rather large amount of the Rukh.  
“I see. I’m Aquarius Merida, and this is Yu Kanda, my…um, boyfriend. I guess.” I shrugged with a red face as Yunan chuckled a little. Kanda didn’t really react, but he relaxed a bit at least.  
“A pleasure to meet you Princess. Now, shall we go?” I didn’t have time to answer before he waved a hand and we rose into the air. Yu wrapped his arm around my waist as we shot off into the sky, flying over the ocean until another island, this one bigger than the one we had just been on, and you could clearly see the city and palace. The magi set us down in what looked like a courtyard, and being very much unprepared for the drop, Kanda and I tumbled to the ground in a heap.   
I got to my feet as soldiers surrounded us with spears and swords at the ready until a violet haired man strode forward, raising a hand and the guards lowered their weapons.  
“Yunan, what are you doing here? Who are these people?”  
“No need to sound so hostile, Sinbad. I’m merely helping out a princess.” The man’s, Sinbad’s, expression changed as he stepped forward to kneel and take my hand, gently pressing his lips to my knuckles.  
“Forgive me, my Lady, I did not know of your tittle.” I pulled my hand back and he stepped back as well, a smile on his face.   
“May I ask your name, Princess?” I couldn’t help but noticed how one of the men behind him shot him a look that basically screamed ‘don’t even try’.   
“I’m Aquarius Merida, heir to the throne of Atlantia, and the zodiac of the seas.” I saw a flash of curiosity in his golden eyes and grinned to myself, I knew when I saw him that he had some sort of connection to the seas.  
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aquarius. I am King Sinbad of Sindria; Conquer of the Seven Seas and Leader of the Seven Seas Alliance. May I also inquire as to your reason for being in Sindria?”   
“I have no definite answer, seeing as Yunan was the one that brought us here, but I believe that you may be able to help me in a way.” I smiled lightly and Sinbad returned it.  
“Of course, please, come in. I can have a set of dry clothes prepared and a room to use for as long as you wish to stay in Sindria, one for your friend as well.” I glanced back at Kanda as we followed Sinbad into the palace; he simply blinked down at me so I turned my attention back to Sinbad as we stopped in front of a set of doors.  
“You and your friend may use this room, I’ll have a servant prepare your clothes and bring you to my study when you finish. Welcome to Sindria, Aquarius.”


	26. Chapter 26

True to Sinbad’s word, a servant girl came by with two sets of clothes (http://www.polyvore.com/aqua_welcome_to_sindria/set?id=171119892). I changed in the connected washroom and Kanda changed while I did. I actually like the dress that Sinbad had provided, the red fabric faded to a peach with gold belts, chain accessories for my arm and one for my hair, which a servant brushed into a high ponytail, and the shoes were very comfortable too. I stepped out and found Kanda wearing plain black clothes that held a simply silver design along the edges. I could tell he liked it though; the narrow sleeves and loose fit must be easy to fight in.  
We followed the servant down the grand halls before stopping before a set of doors. The girl knocked and opened the door when someone called from inside.   
Sinbad sat smiling behind a desk, eight other people stood behind him, one of them I recognized from our first meeting but the others were new…and some of them were very strange…not that I had room to talk.   
“Hello again Princess.”  
“Aquarius, please, just call me Aquarius, formalities bore me.” I sat down on the seat before the king as he stared at me curiously.   
“Very well, Aquarius. Please allow me to introduce the Eight Generals of Sindria: Ja’far, an ex-assassin, Masrur, a Fanalis, Drakon, formerly of the Parthevia Empire and he was originally a human too, Hinahoho of the Imuchakk, Yamraiha of the Musta’sim Kingdom, Sharrkan of Heliohapt, Pisti or Artemyra, and Spartos of Sasan.” I nodded respectfully to each person as they were introduced.  
“A pleasure to meet you all, this is Kanda, my companion of sorts.” I ignored the questioning glance from Kanda as Sinbad smiled one again, this time he learned forwards and resting his arms on the desk in front of him, he eyes held an intensity that was quite overwhelming as he stared at me.   
“So what brings you to Sindria, Aquarius?”  
“I’m looking for someone, my brother to be precise. I believe that he’s somewhere in this world and I need to find him.”   
“I see. I may be able to help you, but I would need more information.” He waved one hand and all the generals except for Ja’far and Masrur left the room.  
“If your brother is in Sindria, you may be able to find him tonight during Mahrajan. I can also ask the generals to keep an eye out for him, what does he look like?” I shook my head sadly.  
“The last time I saw him his hair was sky blue, his eyes were brown like mine, and his name is Ash. If you don’t mind me asking, what is the Mahrajan?” His eyes seemed to lite up at my interest in this even or whatever it was.  
“Every so often a sea monster from the south travels close to Sindria, so we’ve taken it as an advantage to show the power of the generals and keep the people and tourists happy and make them feel safe. Earlier today we discovered that one of these monsters was heading here, so when it attacks, the generals will gather to defeat it and we use the meat to host a greet festival.”   
“It does sound like a rather grand celebration; I’d be honored to see such a thing.” I smiled a bit and Sinbad did the same.  
“Would you like to participate?” I shook my head.  
“I don’t think that would be a wise choice, letting a foreign princess take part in such a thing.” The kind stood from his chair and knelt before me, taking one hand and covering it with his other.  
“Please, I insist. Watching a beautiful lady like yourself fight would truly be a sight to behold.” He smiled at me and I stared at him for a second.  
“Well if you insist, I guess I can. And please release me; I’m afraid that you’ll make my boyfriend jealous and he might attack you.” I glanced over at Kanda who was staring to the side with a hand on Mugen’s hilt and I laughed a little. It was even funnier when I noticed that Ja’far had covered his face with his hands and Masrur had sighed rather heavily at their king’s actions.  
“Besides, I’ll be leaving as soon as I find my brother.” Sinbad stood, releasing his hold on my hand.  
“Then please do excuse my forward actions.” He looked like he was about to say more when one of the generals, Spartos I believe, pushed open the doors.  
“It’s here, King Sinbad.” The purple haired king nodded and held out a hand which I took and he pulled me up and out of the room. Kanda followed behind with Ja’far and Masrur as Sinbad lead us out of the palace and towards the shore through the city. I could see the large serpent like monster from afar and it grew bigger the closer we got. It was about the size of the sea serpent that Hamirial had been transformed into, but it looked very different. The generals were all there waiting as Sinbad reached a large cliff nearby. Ja’far and Masrur left to join the other generals and Kanda stayed by my side.  
“Today, a very special guest will be given the opportunity to take part in this Sindrian tradition! Good luck Princess Aquarius of Atlantia!” I smile a bit at the cheers from the citizens that had gathered to watch and I turned to Kanda.  
“Keep it away from the shore as best you ca, but don’t kill it, ok?”   
“Alright.” Kanda jumped from the cliff, using his netherworld insects to draw the beast away from the shore that I was now standing on. I raised my right hand to the sky above.  
“Tempestas lucendi congregabo meis call and let tonitruum ruinam!!” [Storm of lighting, gather at my call and let the thunder fall] Almost instantly, dark storm clouds gathered in the once clear blue sky, blotting out the sun. Once the clouds grew to the right size, I called Kanda back to stand by me and I let my hand fall, at the same time, massive bolts of lightning fell from the sky, striking the monster and killing it. Raising my hand to the clouds above, I waved my hand and watched as the clouds slowly vanished, showing clear blue sky once again.   
Beside me, Kanda sheathed his blade and turned to me with a small smirk.  
“Remind me not to pick a fight with you.” I giggled and smile.  
“It’s been a while since I last used that spell; I forgot how fun it is.” The cheers of the people increased as I turned to face Sinbad who approached with a look of awe set in his eyes.  
“That was quite the display of magic Aquarius; I’ve never seen such a spectacle in all my life. Well done.” I nodded as Sinbad turned to the white haired general, Sharrkan who nodded without a word and proceeded to draw his sword and cut the beast into smaller pieces which were then taken up to the palace to be prepared for the Mahrajan as Sinbad explained.   
I could only nod in response as we headed back to the palace. The thrill of the fight, no matter how short, was something that had distracted me from all my responsibilities. It felt good to forget, but I knew that it was selfish to think that I could simply runaway from something that my entire family was counting on me for. I had to find Ash and leave, but maybe one day we could return to such a pleasant and safe place.


	27. Chapter 27

The rest of the time leading up to Mahrajan was spend following Sinbad around the palace as he explained everything to me and Kanda. Thanks to my royal lessens before I ran away from home, I knew how to pay attention without really paying attention. It was like you could remember everything said to you without actually listening to what they were saying.   
He was leading us away from the Purple Leo Tower when something slammed onto my chest, not with enough force to knock me down, but it still made me stagger a bit before regaining my balance. I looked down to see a blue haired little boy snuggling into my chest. I blushed furiously as Kanda ripped the kid off me and left him hanging in the air just as three more people rounded the corner.   
“Aladdin!” The blond haired boy yelled when he saw his little friend dangling from Kanda’s grasp. The other two the blond were a red haired girl that reminded me of Masrur, and another boy with dark hair and blue eyes of different shades.   
“Alibaba, Morgiana, Hakuryuu, Aladdin, what are you doing all the way over here?” The blond, Alibaba, rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly with a nervous chuckle.  
“Well, Aladdin took off this way so we followed him.” Sinbad turned his gaze to Aladdin.  
“The Rukh were acting weird so I wanted to see why.” It was then that I noticed the small rukh were swarming him like they did with Yunan.   
“Are you a magi, Aladdin?” I waved to Kanda to release him and knelt so that I was at level with Aladdin.   
“I am; who are you Miss?”   
“I’m Aquarius Merida, 1st Princess of Atlantia.”   
“That must a long ways away if Yam never told me about it.”  
“It is very far away from here.” I smile a bit and the small boy smile back.  
“How do you know about magis Miss Aquarius?”   
“Just Aquarius is fine, Aladdin. I know because I met one when I first came here, he brought me to Sindria then disappeared without a word, but anyway, I can see the rukh like being near you, so I just assumed.”  
“You can see the rukh too?” By now everyone was paying attention to me, even Sinbad, so I guess that being able to see the glowing rukh was something special.  
“I can. I don’t know why or how though.”   
“Hold on a minute,” Alibaba broke in, “Aren’t you the princess that defeated the sea monster today?”  
“I am.” All at once the four started to bombard me with questions. I couldn’t help but sweatdrop at their reaction until Kanda grabbed my arm and pulled me up to my feet.  
“One at a time, you aren’t a bunch of kids.” Kanda snapped and they all shivered in fear, except for Aladdin who slowly raised his hand into the air before lowering it when Kanda shot him a glare. Sinbad simply laughed before stepping forwards.  
“There will be plenty of time for questions later; I do believe all of you have other things to be doing before the festival starts in an hour.” They all sighed in disappointment and slowly left. After that, Sinbad escorted us back to our room to let us prepare for the festival.  
*Sinbad’s P.O.V.*   
As I rounded the corner after leaving the princess, Ja’far began walking by my side from where he had been waiting.   
“Something doesn’t site right with me about that girl, Sin. She might not be a princess; I’ve never heard or read of any kingdom called Atlantia before. And Yamraiha told me that she didn’t use a spell to summon that storm.”   
“I know, but she’s looking for someone right? If we can keep her here long enough, we might be able to learn more about her.”   
“Yes, but how will we keep her in Sindria? If she’s as serious as she sounds, she won’t let anything stop her search.”   
“There’s one thing you forget Ja’far.” I could feel the questioning glance he shot my way and s smirk lifted my lips.  
“She’s a princess, and I’m the Lady Killer of the Seven Seas.” I chuckled as Ja’far’s footsteps stopped and I heard him sigh. It was a ridiculous plan, but this girl had peaked my interest, first claiming to be the ‘zodiac of the seas’ and then summoning a storm without using magoi at all. She claims to be able to see the rukh, but she wasn’t a magi, was she? There were already four instead of three so why not a fifth? And her ‘companion’ looked like he could be part of the Kou Empire, so she could be a spy, but it didn’t seem that way. This girl didn’t make any sense. A blind man could tell she was raised as royalty by the way she carried herself, so it was possible that she was one of the many Kou princesses.   
Shaking my head to clear the thoughts that this woman was plaguing me with, I entered my quarters. The Mahrajan was an important even for Sindria, I wasn’t going to let a single woman, no matter how beautiful, distract me.   
*3rd Person P.O.V.*   
In a different part of Sinbad’s palace, Aladdin, Alibaba, Morgiana, and Hakuryuu were sneaking down the hall, careful to avoid any servants or generals, and especially Sinbad. Aladdin and Alibaba were leading the group with excited eyes while Morgiana followed with a black face and Hakuryuu was worried about being caught after Sinbad himself had told them to leave the princess alone, but of course that wasn’t about to stop the two boys.   
Reaching the door to the room that the princess was residing in, Aladdin and Alibaba pressed cups to the door to try and listen to whatever the two inside might be talking about while Morgiana and Hakuryuu kept a lookout for anyone coming down the hall.   
Hearing voices coming from around the corner, the Kou prince went to warn the group, but at that same instant, they were all pulled into the room and the door was closed softly behind them. The four looked up to see the swordsman glaring down at them with Aquarius giggling beside him.  
“Be nice, Kanda, they about as old as us so don’t treat them like kids.”   
“Hello again Miss!!” Aladdin shot up with a bright smile that Aquarius returned.  
“Hello Aladdin, what brings you here?”  
“We wanted to know more about where you come from!” Aquarius laughed again as Kanda rolled his eyes.  
“Well what do you want to know?”


	28. Chapter 28

And that’s how Aquarius ended up sitting against the head of her bed with a magi in her lap, her boyfriend beside her, and three other teenagers gathered in front of her to listen as she told them not only the events of the past few days, but stories from when she was younger. Even Kanda was curious since he didn’t know a lot about her childhood.   
“Hide and seek was one of the games we all like to play, even though it was kind of unfair since we can basically sense our twins within a certain range. Hamirial was constantly scolding us for running through the palace or messing with the servants, but it was fun.”  
“So you left when those Kateria people attacked?” Alilbaba asked curiously.  
“Actually, I left long before that. You see, I was to be part of an arranged marriage to a prince of the kateria, but I wasn’t ready to be married, especially not to someone as sadistic as he was. So, I ended up running away; that’s when I stumbled into a life of being an exorcist and eventually met Kanda.”   
“How old are you, Aquarius-dono?”   
“I’m actually 19 as of yesterday now that I think about it. I was fourteen when I ran away, and I spent four years training before I was officially made an exorcist. How old are you all?”   
“18.”  
“Same.” Alibaba nodded after Hakuryuu.  
“14…” Morgiana said quietly as Aquarius smiled lightly.  
“I’m 11!” Aladdin exclaimed, making everyone but the ever-stoic Kanda chuckle.  
“I see, we’re actually pretty close in age, huh? And you’ve been on some pretty amazing adventure too.”   
“You should come with us next time!” Aladdin yelled as he hugged the older girl tighter, pushing his face into her chest as she nervously laughed and subtly pulled him back away from her.  
“It does sound like fun, but I’ve got to find my brother and return home as soon as possible. I caused a war, and now I need to end it and restore my kingdom.” The blue haired boy noticed that Aquarius’s arms had tightened around him and her eyes weren’t focused on anything but stared ahead into empty space with a hard glint of determination.   
“We’ll help you onee-chan! That can be our next adventure!” The brunette looked down at him in surprise as the other three voiced their agreement; even Kanda was slightly shocked at how they jumped in to help a couple of strangers from a whole other world.  
“You’re looking for your brother, right Aquarius-dono?”  
“Yes, Ash Merida.” Hakuryuu looked down, immersed in his thoughts, knowing that the name sounded somewhat familiar. Suddenly, he slammed a fist down into an open palm, jolting the others with his sudden outburst.  
“I knew that name sounded familiar! Koumei found a guy with that name passed out in front of the palace gates; the man said he was a prince so he was allowed to stay at the palace. I’ve run into him a few times, but we’ve never spoken much because he was constantly trying to travel with my brothers. He wasn’t planning anything anytime soon though, and I’ll be leaving back to my country in a few days, you could come with me.” Aquarius sat in silence with wide eyes before she threw her arms around the prince, shouting her thanks with a large smile. The blue haired magi wriggled, being stuck squashed between the two; noticing this, Aquarius pulled away and apologized to the gasping Aladdin who waved it off with a smile.   
Everyone tensed at the sudden knock on the door followed by Ja’far entering the room.  
“Lady Aquarius, have you see- oh, there you all are.” The white haired adviser glared at the four sitting on the bed and the princess smile at him.  
“Oh, hello again; did you need them for something?”   
“Yes, King Sinbad wished to see them for something.”   
“Alright, I’ll see you guys later then~!” Ja’far watched as the four left the room, the brown haired girl whispering something to the Kou Prince went unnoticed by the ex-assassin. As the door closed, the smile on Aquarius’s face fell slightly and she sighed lightly before returning to the bed where she sat and let Kanda rest on her lap as she stroked his ebony blue locks.   
“You’ve been really quiet today; quieter than usual anyway, is something wrong?” Kanda blinked up at her for a second before leaning up to kiss her lightly then laid back down.  
“Not really. Just seeing you in royal mode is a lot different from the sarcastic, foul mouthed, and hardheaded girl I first met.” They both chuckled a bit before he continued.  
“It’s really the opposite. I get to watch you smile and be happy while I fall even more in love with you.” Aqua smile and giggled, leaning down to press her lips to his just as the door opened. Aquarius looked up, breaking the kiss while Kanda growled under his breath at the broken moment, glaring at the person at the door who happened to be Sinbad himself.  
“Sorry to interrupt, but the festival is about to start.” Kanda got off the bed before helping Aquarius off and together they followed the purple haired king out the door and up to a large balcony.   
The cheers of the people below were easily audible even though they hadn’t even reached the outside. When they did, the lights of the city and the festival showed brightly as they stood just beside the king and watched him announce the start of the event. Moments later the pair found themselves sitting at a large table laden with food and wine. The Eight Generals sat around them drinking and laughing at stories and jokes; a few of them broke off to stroll around and make sure everything was going well in other parts of the area.   
After two glasses of strong wine, Aquarius found herself being led closer to an area of people dancing to the music by the Sindrian King. Being overly happy to see that Kanda had managed to have an actual conversation with the white haired advisor of the king, the princess let herself be lead through a dance as the other people watched the two.   
The song ended and the royals bowed to each other and Sinbad lead the brown haired girl back to the table before heading off to see some people himself. Aquarius found herself conversing with the blue haired giant of a general as well as the shy Spartos for a while until she noticed that Sinbad was approaching Hakuryuu.  
Excusing herself from the two, she headed over to where the king and prince were just beginning to converse. She came into sight as Hakuryuu flinched in pain and held on to his bandaged arm tightly.  
“Hakuryuu?! Are you alright!?” Worried for the young prince, Aquarius approached as he simply smiled in a reassuring matter.  
“I’m fine, Aquarius-dono.” He finished his sentence just as the lower part of his arm fell to the ground.


	29. Chapter 29

A surge of shock went through everyone present as the fallen appendage turned black before turning into a man. It wasn’t someone that Aquarius was familiar with, but judging by the expressions on four that she had recently been conversing with, they did.   
In an instant, the man was clothes and glancing around before his eyes settled on a specific area and lit up with a devilish thought. Knowing this look, the princess rushed between the man and the group of people, picking up the Kou Prince’s weapon as she moved to cut down the fireball that was now bearing down on her. A frown and a glare were aimed at her from the man as a satisfied smirk crossed Aqua’s lips. Twirling the weapon a few times, she fell into a defensive stance, ready to defend from any more attacks thrown at the people that were now moving away.   
Using the intervention of the princess to take advantage of the distraction, Sharrkan leap forward and cut the man down without mercy, severing his arm and then his legs from the rest of him. But these three pieces formed full humans once more, each one rushing Aladdin, Alibaba, and Sinbad separately. Two of them were cut down, splattering the king and prince in blood, while Aladdin used magic to protect himself.   
Aqua flinched away from the spay before it could touch her even though her parasitic innocence would be able to purge it from her body just like it did everything else. Holding firm as the mysterious man finally disappeared; Aqua rested her pose and held the spear at her side for a minute before moving back to help Hakuryuu up from the ground.  
“Thank you, Aquarius-dono.”  
“Just call me Aqua, its much simpler.” He nodded as Kanda appeared at his other side and slung the princes uninjured arm over his shoulder, helping him back to the castle behind the others. Once there, a nurse carried off the injured prince, leaving Aqua and Kanda standing in the main hall. Aqua stared in silence until something struck the back of her head and she dropped into a crouch, also dropping the spear, to hold her head and look up at Kanda in shock while he seethed down at her.   
“Idiot!! What were you thinking?! Jumping in like that?!” He growled and she flinched a little before smiling up at him.  
“Awww, you were worried about me.”   
“Of course I was!” He pulled her from the floor and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her close to him, so close that she could hear how fast his heart was beating. Aqua smiled lightly and returned the embrace.  
“Don’t forget, I’m used to being in danger, Yu. I’m an exorcist too you know.” Kanda sighed and stepped back, staring at her with an expression that she couldn’t quite place.   
“You’re still an idiot.”  
“But you love me~.” Kanda rolled his eyes as the brunette giggled. Aqua stepped back and picked up the fallen weapon before heading down the hall, grasping Kanda’s hand in her’s as she noticed a figure in pink walking their way. The figure turned out to be a girl wearing a very fancy kimono.  
“You must be the famed Princess of Atlantia. I’m Ren Kougyoku, 8th Princess of the Kou Empire.” Both girls bowed to each other as Kanda simply stared on at them.  
“Pleasure to meet you, I’m Aquarius Merida, and this is Kanda.” A smirk lit up the Kou Princess’s face.  
“Oh~? Your boyfriend?” A blush spread across Aqua’s face but she just smiled with a light chuckle.  
“Yeah.”  
“Oh that’s so cute!” The two girls continued to talk about random things, becoming friends quickly as Kanda looked on in silence. The conversation stopped as Sinbad walked out of the doors of a nearby room with Aladdin and Yamraiha close behind. The king smiled at them as he passed, but didn’t say a word as he continued until the group disappeared around a corner. Aqua and Kougyoku shared a glance when they left, giggles rising from both for no obvious reason.   
“Ah, I should be checking on Hakuryuu, would you accompany me?”   
“Of course, I have to return his weapon as well.” The girls looped arms and turned down the hall that the nurse had taken the prince down with Kanda following.   
When they entered, the prince was surrounded by nurses as he tried to escape them. His arm was wrapped but the nurses still bustled over him looking for more injuries. Everything paused for an instant when the three entered before the ladies left. Hakuryuu let out a sigh of relief and smiled lightly.  
“How’s your arm?” Kougyoku questioned lightly.  
“It’s gone, but I’ll manage with Zagan’s power.” As if hearing its master, the eight pointed star on the blade of the weapon in Aqua’s hands began to glow; seeing this, Aqua handed over the spear and nodded when the Kou prince thanked her and Kanda. Hakuryuu looked around a bit before returning his attention to the foreign princess.  
“I suppose this is a good a place as any to speak then?”   
“It will have to do.”  
“Oh, what sort of plan have you two hatched up here in Sinbad’s palace?” The Kou princess glared at the two with a tone of suspicion laced in her voice.  
“Oh, it’s nothing bad really, just plans for my leave of Sindria. I hope to travel to Kou to find my brother; though, I fear that Sinbad will intend to keep my here as long as possible because of my ‘magic’. I don’t blame him really, as a ruler, he is to do what he believes will benefit his country the most, but I must do something that will class with his will.”  
“I see, so you will be accompanying Hakuryuu back to the Kou Empire.”  
“That was the plan.” Aqua smiled and leaned back into Kanda who simply let her be. Kougyoku’s eyes flickered between the couple and her fellow Kou royal before she smiled.  
“I’ll help you in any way I am able!” And just like that, Aqua had gained yet another ally and friend in this new world.


	30. Chapter 30

A week passed quietly, though Aqua seemed to grow ever restless as the time to their departure drew on, Sinbad’s flirtatious attempts were also growing in intensity and it vexed the princess more than she ever thought possible.   
Even now, simply sitting on the shaded balcony as the sun set, Sinbad was doing his all to sway her to him.   
“You’ve hardly touched your wine, please, don’t feel the need to limit yourself, drink all you wish.” Aqua smiled, holding the cup in a vice grip that threatened to shatter the poor item.   
“Thank you very much, but I’m not much of a drinker, I lost my love to wine after spending a few years away from home.” She set the cup down gently, picking up a piece of fruit instead as Sinbad moved over closer on the seat that he had insisted they shared, since it was just the two of them. Subtly moving further from his advances, Aqua flicked a stray strand of chocolate hair over her shoulder.  
“Surely, I could help you get that love back? I have a wide range of rare wines, perhaps we can find one that you’d like?” Forcing yet another smile, she drew her folded legs closer to her.  
“As much as I’d like to accept your offer, Sinbad, I’ll have to decline. I’m sure the last thing Kanda would like to deal with is me being drunk on wine.”   
“You speak so highly of your companion, I’m almost jealous.” Feigning innocence, Aqua tilted her head in a curious manner.  
“Jealous?” The second the word left her lips, Aqua found herself pinned to the seat beneath her with Sinbad looming over her.   
“Of course. The thought that there’s a man constantly by your side, able to admire you from every angle, see your unearthly beauty every day, it’s enough to send any man into an envious rage.” He forced his lips on hers as she struggled to break his grasp on her arms. For a second, his grip tightened suddenly and Aqua gasped at the pain shooting through her wrists. Something slipped from his mouth into hers and hit the back of her throat, making her swallow reflexively, and the world began to spin and blur as the king leaned back gasping for breath.   
Standing, Sinbad pulled the now unconscious girl into his arms and entered the palace, heading straight for his personal bedroom. He really didn’t plan to do anything to shame her, he wasn’t that cruel, but using the power of his djinn, he could sway her into staying here.   
Turning a corner, the kind paused in surprise when he saw the Kou Prince heading towards him, eyes wide when he saw Aqua.  
“What happened?” The concerned prince stopped for a minute as he scanned her figure for injuries while Sinbad simply smiled and chuckled a bit.  
“Just a bit too much wine I’m afraid, she’ll be resting in my quarters for the night. Anyway, did you need something, Hakuryuu?” He questioned, opening the doors and laying the princess on the large bed before turning and walking out with Hakuryuu.  
“Oh yes, Kougyoku send me to ask for you, she didn’t tell me why though, I’m sorry.” Nodded in understanding, Sinbad walked with the Kou royal until they parted ways, Sinbad to see what the Kou princess wanted, and Hakuryuu to go about his business. Though his real intention was to find Kanda as fast as possible and get Aqua out of the king’s room before he returned.   
Luckily, Kanda had been wondering about the halls when he heard Hakuryuu’s hurried footsteps and intercepted him. The young prince was breathing heavily but not full on panting, so he assumed either he hadn’t been in that much of a rush, or he hadn’t been doing so for long.  
“Kanda-san!” The two nearly collided as the older male rather awkwardly placed his hands on the other’s shoulders and ordered him to calm down before speaking again.  
“King Sinbad, he took Aquarius to his room. I told him that Kougyoku wanted him, but I’m not sure how long he’ll be away.”   
“Where’s his room?”  
“This way, I’ll show you.” The two took off down the hall in the direction of the Purple Leo tower, the king’s tower basically, but they ran into an armed Jafar.  
“Who gave you two permission to enter this tower?” The tension grew thicker as the silence continued on before being broken.  
“Hakuryuu informed me that Aquarius had fallen asleep and was to stay in the king’s quarters, so I came to check on her.”  
“I’m afraid you’ll need the king’s permission to do that, otherwise, I cannot allow you to go any further.” Clicking his tongue in irritation, Kanda drew Mugen from its sheath at his side, preparing to counter any attacks from his adversary.   
Dodging one before countering another of Jafar’s rope darts, Kanda sprung forwards and swung relentlessly at the former assassin who found it nearly impossible to counter each blow because of the samurai’s speed. Ramming the hilt of his sword into the general’s stomach, Kanda followed it with a kick that forced Jafar back into the wall next to the door of Sinbad’s room.   
As he moved forward to attack again, Jafar was yanked back by his arm, which was covered in a thick layer of ice that was slowly growing to cover his entire arm and shoulder.  
“What is this!?” He yelled when his dart blade bounced off the ice without so much as a scratch left behind.   
“This is my power.” The door swung open, revealing a very pissed off princess. The crosses on her wrists were glowing, as the ice grew even more to cover the ex-assassins chest before stopping.  
“Release me!” He demanded in anger, glaring at the three. Aqua rounded on the general, brown seething orbs sharp with hate and rage made Jafar flinch back at the unfamiliar aura.  
“I’ll release you when I’m off this island.” She spat before turning and stalking back to her room with the other two following her closely. Kanda paused for an instant, turning to the prince before thanking him and telling him to get some rest before they departed in the morning, which he obliged after a second and left.   
Turning back, Kanda found the door to their room already open, which he shut and locked after he entered, making his way to the girl now sitting on the bed with a pillow hugged to her chest, which she discarded in favor of hugging her lover when he sat down beside her.  
“I hate rulers like him, rulers that aren’t content with what power they already have.” Humming in agreement, Kanda ran his hand over her soft locks for a few minutes in silence, the use for words lost in their embrace.


	31. Chapter 31

Waking the next morning, Aqua found herself still wrapped in her love’s arms. Smiling to herself, she pressed her lips to his lightly, feeling the force increase slightly when Kanda kissed her back. Moving back, Aqua moved off the bed as his arms removed themselves, but he still remained lying with his eyes gently closed.   
Looking through her clothes, Aqua found a top and skirt that would make for easy movements, maybe not quiet movements though (http://www.polyvore.com/aqua_irrataion/set?id=177143647). She changed into the outfit after a quick wash and brushed out her hair, leaving the locks down as she slipped the sandals on.   
Moving back to the bed, the princess leaned over Kanda to gently play with his navy hair, marveling at the feeling of it slipping through her fingers as his eyes fluttered open to stare up at her calmly.   
“You need to get up; we leave in about an hour or two.” Sitting up, Kanda rested his head on her shoulder with a soft groan for a moment before standing to change.   
An hour later and both were standing on the docks with the Kou prince as the final preparations to set sail were made.   
Making small talk between the three of them, Aqua learned that they would be accompanied by Aladdin and Morgiana as well. Sensing something in the air, the princess turned to find a silently seething Sindrian King walking towards them, a smile plastered over his lips.   
“It seems you had a rather cold encounter with Jafar last night, Princess.” As the memory of the previous night surfaced, rage leaked into her chocolate eyes and they slowly turned to an icy blue as a smirk twisted her lips while Kanda stood at her side, hand ready to draw Mugen.  
“Yes, I may have been a little disoriented, waking up in your room after having so much wine. I must have mistaken him for someone else.” Sinbad refrained from snapping at her obvious taunt in front of so many people, not to mention that she was a foreigner and royalty. He may be ready to wring her neck for what she did, but he was a king with a reputation to uphold.   
“I see, then I guess I can forget our little misunderstanding. Possibly over dinner?” He held out his hand to her politely with a smile and she simply smiled back.  
“I’m afraid my evening is occupied.” Turning on her heels, Aqua stalking up the board plank and disappeared with Kanda behind her.   
Hakuryuu glanced awkwardly between the king and the spot where the princess had disappeared before his attention was taken by the two approaching figures of Aladdin and Morgiana. The four conversed for a little while before boarding the boat and set sail with Pisti accompanying them a ways. Aladdin found Aqua and Kanda staring out at the open sea, or Aqua was staring at the ocean sight and Kanda was staring at her.   
The trip was quiet for a time before the attack by bandits and everything seemed to fall apart slowly. The two foreigners had helped where they could with the matter, but stayed out of it for the most part. They parted ways with the others afterwards and headed off with the Kou prince as their guide. Aqua could feel something slowly manifesting inside the boy, but never said anything until they had met up with his elder sister and he approached her when Kanda wasn’t by her side.   
“Aquarius-dono, may I speak with you?” Slightly surprised, the girl nodded.  
“Of course, Hakuryuu. What did you want to discuss?” Sitting down beside the princess, he sighed.  
“I feel like I’m doing everything so wrong, but it’s the only way to achieve my goal.”   
“Hakuryuu, I understand that you truly wish for things to be peaceful in a world like this one, much like I desire peace for my own, but sometimes that will mean doing things you would really rather not. I think that the most important part in all this, is staying true to who you are. You’re a good person, Hakuryuu, a strong person, but I really think you should find a slightly more reliable ally than Sinbad.” At the mention of the Sindrian king, the prince looked up to see the bitter look that twisted Aqua’s face.   
“You really don’t like Sinbad, do you?”   
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good king to his people, but his methods are unorthodox to me. My family only had one other sea nation to deal with, and we were at war for a hundred years before a plan for peace was even considered and then attempted to carry out. I come from a vastly different world than you do, so my advice might not be what you want it to be. Anyway, I don’t really know what kind of adversary you’re up against, but you shouldn’t go at it alone, no matter how simply. I ran from my adversary because I thought I had no one on my side to help me, my siblings expressed such joy at the prospect of peace that I didn’t have the heart to tell them my real intentions, but now, I know they stand with me and I have Kanda by my side too. You may feel like every burden is something you must bear alone, but you don’t; your sister cares for you, I’m sure she would be more than willing to aid you if you explained your true intentions.” Hakuryuu’s gaze fell to the ground as Aqua watched him with a hint of pity in her eyes. She had seen the black rukh fluttering and growing in number ever since their departure to the Kou Empire, ever since the encounter with the pirates.   
A twig snapped and both glanced behind them to find Hakuei standing there.  
“There you are, we’re all ready to set out when you are, Hakuryuu.” She smiled lightly as Aqua cast a meaningful glance at the Kou prince before standing, nodding politely to the elder girl, and finding her way back to Kanda’s side without saying a word.   
His arm slipped around her waist silently as they headed out with the rest of the company, traveling ever closer to the capital of the empire.


	32. Chapter 32

Their arrival at the capital was rather extravagant, with Hakuryuu riding in with a show of his new power, while Aqua and Kanda stuck with his sister. There were many questions about the odd pair, but as soon as she explained that she was there in search of her brother Ash, everything seemed to just fall into place, until the brown haired princess was knocked to the ground.  
“Ow, watch where you’re going!” A boy with pink hair growled, sitting up and straightening the hat on his head before taking a good look at Aqua, who was being helped up by Kanda as she smiled apologetically.  
“Sorry about that.” She extended a hand to him, but he batted it aside and stood up on his own before closely looking her over, still glaring slightly.  
“You look familiar.” The boy cocked his head to one side before yet another person ran into the two of them, this time the person happened to be yelling something seconds before so Kanda was able to pull Aqua out of the way and let the newcomer crash into the equally mysterious pink haired boy. They tumbled to the ground in a heap of flailing limbs and curses and Aqua pressed a hand over her mouth to keep in the laughter bubbling up in her throat.  
“Well that was something.” The girl noted in amusement, glancing up at Kanda who was fighting a grin but nodded back all the same. Aqua turned back to the two boys now wrestling in the dirt.  
“Kouha!” A gruff voice snapped, making the couple stiffen in surprise, having not noticed this third person. The two sprang apart instantly, brushing dirt from their clothes and muttering apologies. Aqua and Kanda turned to the tall, red haired man standing off to one side with his arms crossed over his chest. His red eyes glanced at the two for an instant than reverted their attention back on the duo covered in dirt.  
“We have guests, that’s no way to behave. Apologize.” Both spun around and opened their mouths to speak, but the brown haired one was sent flying with a solid punch to the face by the fuming Aqua. She stalked past the frozen bystanders and lifted the dazed boy from the dirt by the front of his shirt.  
“You stupid sonofab*tch, think I wouldn’t be able to find you? I could sense you from an island in the middle of nowhere!” She shook him roughly and growled.  
“If you weren’t my brother I’d rip your sorry @ss to pieces, Ash.”  
“Hey S-sis. Long time no see?” Ash grinned widely, despite the blood rushing from his busted nose as Aqua dropped him back to the ground.  
“I hate you so much right now, but we’re in a hurry.” Both siblings got to their feet and Ash glanced at Kanda for a second.  
“Who’s he?”  
“Ash, meet Kanda, my boyfriend. Kanda, my twin, Ash.” The brown haired girl gestured between the two of them and Ash nodded.  
“Alright. Well if you’re here, that means you’re ready to ascend the throne.” His face turned serious as Aqua nodded.  
“Yes, the others have already been gathered, we need to get back before the Kateria make their move.”  
“What of the Mirastar? We need it for the coronation to be complete.”  
“The Kateria have it in their possession, but I have a plan to draw it back to us.”  
“I see, then we should go, but how exactly do we get back?”  
“A mirror, we step though a mirror.” She explained.  
“Kougyoku’s got a mirror in her quarters; it’s the largest in the entire palace besides the one in the hag’s room.” The pink haired Prince, Kouha, spoke up, catching the attention of the others.  
“Could you show us?”  
“Of course; this way.” The taller man that had showed up to scold the boys spoke up, gesturing for them to follow as he led the way through a few halls before stopping in front of a pair of doors, knocking. When there was no reply, he opened the door and stepped in, finding the room empty. The others entered and he pointed to the large mirror that stood in the corner.  
“Will this work?”  
“Of course, thank you very much… ah.” Aqua trailed off, not knowing the man's name.  
“Kouen Ren.” He replied, answering her unasked question.  
“Thank you, Kouen. Could you also pass on my apologies for leaving on such short notice as well as my thanks to Hakuryuu and Hakuei?” He simply nodded in reply as Aqua turned to the mirror, grasping Kanda’s hand before stepping into it, focusing on returning home again. The surface rippled and she passed through with Ash and Kanda following close behind, leaving the others to simply watch in amazement.  
When the surface stilled, Kouha turned to Kouen who stood staring at the reflections in the mirror.  
“Gyokuen is going to pitch a fit when she finds out we let them leave.” The elder shrugged as if the though didn’t bother him in the slightest.  
“Let her. I never agreed to go along with her ridiculous plan of enslaving them in the first place, plus I don’t think it would have worked anyway.”  
“What makes you say that, Brother En?” Kouha asked curiously.  
“That girl had a fire in her eyes, but not just a fire, an inferno of power.”  
“Huh. We should have asked her to smoke the hag before she left.” Kouen chuckled but didn’t say anything more as they exited their sister’s room, acting as if nothing had transpired.


	33. Chapter 33

Aqua fell stepped into a familiar room, filled with faces she recognized from so many years ago. (http://sta.sh/21tz41wymyf?edit=1) The first to jump and embrace her was the second youngest, Lyric. Her brown hair and eyes were lighter, but would darken as she got older. Emelda and Equius were the next oldest, being the quietest of all of them, Emelda had brown hair and eyes, but Equius had blue hair and eyes. Chance and Covack were the second oldest siblings, both with blue hair and eyes.   
Hamirial watched the family interact without saying a word, observing in silence as the heiress introduced her lover. No one noticed the silver haired figure leave the room and disappear.   
The Aqua finally managed to calm everyone down enough to get a plan together for the fight that would most likely take place.   
“Guys, we need to prepare ourselves, we can’t run away again. We were taught to fight, so we’re going to do just that. This ends here.” She spoke with finality before shooting off commands to each of her siblings, getting a firm nod in return, even from Lyric. She turned to Kanda once everyone had their orders, a small frown on her lips.  
“I can’t ask you to fight this battle-” He cut her off by pecking her lips, a smirk on his lips.  
“Then don’t, because I’m not leaving your side until I know you’re safe.” The frown was replaced with a bright smile as she tugged him along with her back to her room, taking her time to find a large chest in the back of a connected room. She closed the door and dressed in the white and silver armor (http://www.polyvore.com/aqua_battle/set?id=184589189) that had been made specifically for her before pulling on her gauntlets and black boots, wearing black leather leggings under it all. The last piece was a sword, the blade a bright, almost glowing silver blue color. (http://www.polyvore.com/weapons_war/set?id=184589782)   
She exited the small room and saw Kanda fiddling with something in his hands, a small silver circlet. He turned with it still in hand.  
“Don’t you look ready to take on an army?”   
“I just might have to.” There was a chuckle in her voice as Kanda stepped forward and set the circlet on her head, adjusting it lightly until it was perfect.   
“Beautiful.” Aqua blushed a bright red and smiled brightly before he drew her into a ravishing kiss, panting as they drew apart again.  
“I love you, no matter what happens.” They stayed embracing each other as Kanda nodded lightly.  
“I love you too.”   
There was a light knock and they broke apart to find Ash standing in the doorway, a mixed expression on his face.  
“What’s wrong?”   
“Hamirial’s gone.” Aqua tensed and moved past her brother with Kanda behind her as the three headed to the throne room.  
“Are you absolutely sure?”   
“Yes.” Aqua stopped before the two thrones and turned to face the opposite direction, the others appearing behind her as she stood in silence. Kanda glanced around and couldn’t help but be impressed by the determination they showed, fully clothed in armor, weapons ready, and steadfast.   
The ground shook and a few flashes lit up the space after it became cloaked in the darkness of a storm. Lightening flashed three times, and as the light filtered back into the room, there was a large group gathered at the opposite side of the massive room. At their head, was a man (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/308707749433575374/), looking in his early twenties with raven black hair and cold crimson eyes. A dark smirk twisted his lips as Aqua glared down at him from her place.  
“Aquarius, it’s been far too long.” His deep voice was intimidation, but Aqua held her ground, gaze unwavering.   
“Jadarin, you have something that belongs to me.” The man, Jadarin, chuckled and pulled out a palm sized stone (http://www.aussietreasurechest.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=6001).   
“This little thing? If you want it, you’ll have to take it. Or we can do this the simple way and just do what we supposed to, marry that is.” Brown eyes flashed blue for an instant, narrowed.  
“If you think me daft enough to marry a power hunger man like yourself, you are sorely mistaken. I’d rather die than watch my kingdom be destroyed.” She drew her blade, indicating her resolve against him as Jadarin’s expression went cold.  
“In that case, I’ll have to kill you, and then take over your precious kingdom. I might keep you alive though; a beauty like you is rather rare.” A sick grin twisted his lips as he drew is own blade, ebony with crimson runes inscribed into the weapon.   
In an instant they clashed, meeting halfway in a flurry of sparks. The others rushed to meet the enemy force, fighting and cutting them down, Kanda sticking close to Lyric at Aqua’s request of keeping her safe.   
The fight drew on, Aqua dodging the deadly blade of her adversary, slipping kicks into the fight in an effort of gaining distance between them so that she could charge in again, striking swiftly. Both were covered in shallow cuts, but none deep enough to be of concern in the midst of the fury of battle. Adrenaline raced through the girl’s veins, giving her a burst of thrilling speed that she used to gain the upper hand.   
Suddenly a fear laced scream pierced the air, gaining everyone’s attention, but mostly the Meridas’ as Lyric dangled helplessly in the hands of one of the Kateria; it’s black claws around her neck. Kanda was on the floor, holding an arm to his chest as blood seeping through the gashes there.   
In that moment, Aqua found her blade knocked away, her arms pulled back, and a blade at her throat. Behind her, Jadarin chuckled darkly.  
“How the tables have turned.” He breathed, sliding the blade a fraction to create a small cut in the soft flesh of her neck.   
“Let her go!” Aqua yelled, uncaring of the blade digging deeper with every struggle she made.  
“Oh, I will, I’m not a monster; however, in return, you must marry me and hand over your kingdom.” A look of confliction entered her eyes and she glanced around, almost all of her siblings were injured in some way, Kerillia was even leaning against Kaven as blood spilled from a large gash in her leg.   
“Sissy, don’t do it!” A pang pierced her chest as Lyric cried out to her before the hand closed even tighter around her throat.  
“Stop! I’ll do it! I’ll do it, just let her go, please!” Her voice dwindled in harsh defeat as the blade left her throat. At the same time, Lyric was released and she dashed to her oldest sister as Aqua fell to her knees. A tear falling down her cheek as she embraced her sister.  
“The coronation must be done first, or else I still rule.” Jadarin sheathed his blade and tossed the Mirastar from his pocket into the air letting Aqua catch it.   
“And don’t try anything funny, I know you don’t have all your precious rings.” Aqua glanced down at her hand for a second but nodded all the same. Standing, she rushed to Kanda’s side.  
“Kanda, are you alright?” A pain filled smirk crossed the samurai’s lips before it turned to a grimace.  
“I’ll live.”  
“Just hold on a little longer, ok?” He nodded again as she sat him up against a nearby pillar, leaving him to return to the center of the room. Jadarin watched them carefully, wary of any move they might make against him as Aqua stood with the stone cupped in her outstretched hands. The girl had been a problem since the day them finally came face to face, and he wasn’t about to let her trick him like the last time.


	34. Chapter 34

The cuts on her face stung and her muscles ached as Aqua stood surrounded by her brothers and sisters. Her eyes glanced to Lyric, who let out a subtle nod to her elder as Ash stepped forwards, placing on hand on the glowing stone.  
“On the word of our ancestors, the North Sun pledges our loyalty and support to the queen.” Chance and Covack stepped up next, copying Ash.  
“On the word of our ancestors, the South Sun pledges our loyalty and support to the queen.” Kerillia and Kaven.  
“On the word of our ancestors, the North Moon pledges our loyalty and support to the queen.” Next was Sapphiria and Sebastian, Sapphiria looking very displeased as she shot a glare over Aqua’s shoulder at Jadarin before placing her hand over her twin’s.  
“On the word of our ancestors, the South Moon pledges our loyalty and support to the queen.” They stepped down and the red heads took their place.  
“On the word of our ancestors, the Celestial Sea pledges our loyalty and support to the queen.” They recited in sync before stepping down, allowing Emelda and Equius to replace them.   
“On the word of our ancestors, the North Ice pledges our loyalty and support to the queen.”   
“On the word of our ancestors, the South Ice pledges our loyalty and support to the queen.” Lyric finished, a tear streaking down her cheek as her sister smiled down at her gently.   
“On the word of my ancestors, I pledge to rule with all fairness and authority as my mother before me.” Sweeping around, Aqua walked to the wall behind the thrones, placing the Mirastar in the slot and watching with relief as lines of blue energy burst forth from it, coursing through the walls. The crumbled pieces of the palace glowed and moved back into place as water seeped up from below, pooling at their feet as the ground shook.   
No one moved as the water continued to rise, but when it reached waist height, Aqua once more placed her hand on the stone.  
“As the ruler of Atlantia, I, Aquarius Merida VII, claim the role of guardian and protector of my people. With the support of the seas, I command the seal to be whole…” Turning to face a confused Jadarin, Aqua held her hand out with to show the seven rings there as they combined into a single rainbow colored glass lotus flower. The Katerian leader’s face turned to pure rage and fury as a smirk broke out over the new queen’s face.  
“…and obsolete.” The flower glowed brightly before shattering into nothing. There was a massive shift in the ground and the entire rest of the room flooded. Light flashed and everyone had reverted back to their true forms, the only one that was different was Aqua (http://jasminesharde.deviantart.com/art/Aquarius-o-c-579757041), her armor was vanished and in her grasp was a trident embedded with seven blue crystals. Kerillia and Lyric had disappeared along with Kanda as Aqua pointed the weapon at her enemy, a triumphant smirk on her lips when Jadarin glared at her with pure loathing in his crimson eyes.   
“You b*tch.” He spat at her, but she stayed unfazed.   
“You have no idea.” She replied, thinking back to her earlier encounters with Kanda, making her lips twitch up in a small smile before settling back into a smirk.   
“You should have met her sooner.” A new voice spoke up her the back and Aqua froze as a young girl with short brown hair moved through the ranks of the Kateria.   
“L-Liena!?” She gasped in disbelief at the girl in front of her because sure enough, there stood her youngest sister, but there was something off; instead of warm chocolate brown orbs, they were a startling blood red color. A cold smirk twisted the girl’s lips as she stared at her older sister.  
“Hello Aquarius. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? You know, since you ran away and left the palace to be completely destroyed.” Liena’s eyes hardened into ruby shards, receiving the same look from crystal blue hues as Aqua’s jaw clenched tightly.  
“How are you alive? I found your corpse.” The younger scoffed at the older, flipping her hair over a shoulder.  
“Please, it was easy to find a mermaid my age and kill her to use as a substitute. It would give you cause to find the rings and ascend the throne. Which you will now abdicate to Jadarin and transfer the zodiac to me.” Aqua’s grip on the trident tightened, turning her knuckles white.  
“Why? What have I done to anger you like this?! Do you not care about your family?!”  
“I loved my family!!!!” Liena screamed at her sister, effectively silencing her before continuing.  
“My family was everything to me, just like the rest of us! But you, you were the black sheep, Aquarius! A stuck up, spoiled brat that cared more for love and attachment than doing your duty! Everything that’s happened has happened because of you.” Aqua flinched back at the harsh words spat at her, but the accusation hurt the most, because it was true. It had all started with her. She could have found a better way to get out of the marriage, but instead she had run away from her problems; however, because of that, she met Kanda, and through him, found the strength to go through with finding everyone. She might have made a mistake, but she sure as hell was going to fix it.   
“You know what, you’re right.” Aqua lowered her trident, making Liena’s eyes widen in surprise at her acceptance of the accusation she had dished out, but then her grip tightened and she looked up, staring directly into her younger sisters eyes with burning determination.  
“I did start this, and can be d@mn sure I’ll f*cking fix it!” Now everyone was staring at her with wide eyes, shocked by the very unladylike language that had spilled from her lips. With a grin, Aqua imagined the smirk Kanda would have had on his face at her choice of words before she raised the jeweled weapon over her head, feeling the current forming behind her as a water dragon (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Artworks:Water_Dragon?file=WaterDragon-TF04-JP-VG.jpg) appeared, massive jaws wide open.   
“Truth be told, I really don’t know how to control this thing, so I’d watch out.” A wide grin of excitement pulled at Aqua’s lips as Liena and Jadarin moved back with fear slowly slipping into their eyes.


	35. Chapter 35

The dragon crashed against wall, tossing stone and torrents of water at every enemy in sight as Aqua batted away every attack that was launched against her like it was the simplest thing in the world. Jadarin and Liena were doing their utmost to counter the onslaught of powerful strikes from the many weapons focused on them when the head of the Kateria was suddenly thrown back into one wall, cracks splintering around his body as a red cloud of blood seeped from his mouth and from around the lance that had impaled his body to the wall. Kerillia harshly removed the weapon, a smirk of triumph on her lips as he sunk to the ground, sputtering around the blood until his chest fell still. 

A shudder passed through the rest of the enemy, the sudden loss of their leader led to an uncoordinated mess that just made it easier to cut them down until the last fled for their lives. All that remained was Liena, who was been caught by Chance and Covak and now knelt before the thrones, bound, but still glaring up in defiance as Aqua looked down at her with sadness and a bitter feeling in her heart. 

“You made a mistake Liena, and look where it’s gotten you. Tell me, what did you think would come of this? Surely you didn’t think that I’d let a corrupt soul use to power of the Zodiac for evil?” When her sister stayed silent, the new queen sighed, frowning lightly.

“You know the price of treachery is death,” She paused, but continued when she got no reaction from her sibling, “Your trial will be held a week from today, as is tradition. Lock her up, chained as well, she cannot be allowed to escape.” Sadness settled itself in her gut as she watched her sister be led away, disappearing with her brothers. Turning, Aqua slid through the water and around the corner, opening the nearest door. 

Her feet settled on the dry floor, she flinched at the sudden change to legs, but pushed it back and strode forward, a blue and green skirt wafting around her knees. Lyric knelt on the floor, hands glowing a light gold and hovering just about the large cuts on Kanda’s chest. Kerillia stood a few feet away, lance in hand until Aqua walked in and she relaxed slightly. 

“So, that’s the end of it then?”

“Yeah, I hope so. How is he?” She inquired; kneeling on the man’s other side.

“I’m fine.” The now blue haired woman jumped when Kanda suddenly spoke, opening his eyes to look right at her, and she sighed.

“I hate you.” That got a small smile from the usually stoic swordsman.

“You love me.”

“Lucky enough for you.” She joked lightly, but she furrowed her brows when Kanda frowned, reaching up to brush his hand on her neck, getting a light flinch from the woman when he touched the scratch that was still seeping blood. 

“You’re bleeding.”

“I’ll be fine; it’s nothing I can’t handle. Sheesh, I’ve been stabbed before, this is definitely one of my lesser injuries.” Aqua chuckled, sitting back on her ankles. “Probably nothing compared to the thrashing Komui’s going to give us when we get back.” Rolling his eyes, Kanda huffed.  
“He’ll just have to deal with it.” Lyric lifted her hands away as he finished speaking,

“Finished, you can sit up now, just be careful.” Aqua helped Kanda sit upright as Kerillia tousled her younger sister’s hair before leading her out of the room, leaving the new queen and the samurai alone. 

“The Order thinks you’re dead.”

“I know, but misinformation is quite common in the middle of things, you know?”

“So you want to waltz back into the Order like nothing happened? Besides, what about this place, you’re a queen now, shouldn’t you be here?” Sky blue eyes found the ground as Aqua didn’t reply, simply stared at the ground, feeling the dilemma in her mind. On one hand, Kanda was right, she was a queen with the responsibility of rebuilding her kingdom, but on the other, she still had innocence and was an exorcist sworn to protect people from the akuma and the Noah. Then there was Kanda… the last thing she wanted to do was leave him, she could honestly say she loved him with her whole heart, a feeling she had never known before him and one she wasn’t willing to part with so quickly.

“I…I don’t know...” Hearing the conflict in her voice, Kanda was about to speak again, but the loud sound of something ramming against the palace wall interrupted him. Both were on their feet in an instant, but Aqua stopped at the door since it was nothing but water beyond it. Mumbling a few words under her breath, the woman slammed her open palms into the surface of the water and it moved away with a rush, repelled by her touch. In seconds, the entire palace was empty of water and the two were rushing through the halls, heading for the sounds of metal scraping against metal. 

“What the h3ll is going on!?” The blue haired woman demanded, crashing through the last set of door, finding her brothers clashing with a massive sea serpent, different from the first one that Aqua had encountered, this one looking more like a dragon than anything. Ash landed just beside her, panting with his blade gripped tightly in his hand.

“Not sure, it appeared out of nowhere. One final attack from the Kateria maybe?” With a grin, the brown haired man rushed off again, weapon ready, leaving the two at the entrance. Aqua held her trident in a vice grip as she watched her family rushing back and forth against their newest adversary. They wouldn’t last long enough though, the fight against the Kateria had drained them and injured them and this Serpent was at full strength. 

Turning back to Kanda, the royal found that he had already drawn Mugen and was looking at her.

“Up for one more fight?” She asked, looking back to the battle.

“Of course I am.” With a chuckle and a grin, the pair rushed off, side by side, ready to take down the enemy.


	36. Chapter 36

The blue haired woman launched herself high into the air, landing on the beast’s back and driving her weapon deep into its scaled hide. The serpent roared in anger and pain as it thrashed around, trying to throw her off while trying to avoid the precise strikes from Kanda and Ash and the others. 

Its jaws snapped at empty air, unable to catch any of its attackers, the tail swung wildly, seemingly without any sort of coordination until it struck Chance, sending him into the ground. The appendage came back down again to smash the male into the bare sea floor when it was cut from the main body, sending a shower of blood into the air as the serpent wailed in agony, writhing even more wildly than before. 

Kanda touched down next to where the twitching tail had fallen, a smirk on his lips and scarlet blood dripping from Mugen. Aqua grinned, pulling her weapon from the beast’s back and landing a ways away. The serpent immediately targeted her, opening massive jaws, adorned with razor sharp teeth, but the blue haired woman saw it coming and at the last second threw up a wall of ice that it slammed full force into, stunning it for an instant. It shook off the blow, growling deeply before ramming the ice one more, this time managing to crack it, but Aqua had moved and was now behind the beast, muttering a spell under her breath that was being copied by Ash.

They finished at the same time, throwing out the spell that formed massive, heavy chain around the serpent, completely immobilizing it and holding it to the ground so that it had no chance of escape. In another second, Covak’s ebony blade severed its head from the rest of the body. It twitched for a moment before stilling, blood seeping into the ground in a large, growing pool. 

Aqua stepped closer to the head, resting a hand on the armored snout, looking it over. Finding nothing that would indicate where the serpent had come from, she stepped back, turning to walk back to the palace entrance where the others were waiting. Kanda was rolling his eyes at something that Ash was smirking about and it made the woman smile, seeing them get along so well. A sudden thought hit her then and she nearly slapped herself, stopping in front of them all and holding the trident out to her twin brother, who simply stared at it in utter confusing, not knowing exactly was being expected of him.

“I’ve decided,” she began, “that Ash will rule in my stead. I’m not exactly queen material, you all know that, and since you are my twin, you have just as much a right to the crown as I do and you’ll do a better job than I ever could.”

“Only because I paid attention during our lessons.” That got him a glare and swift kick to the shin.

“Oops, my foot slipped.” Aqua said without any sympathy as she rolled her eyes. “Anyway, yeah. I’m going to go back to the Black Order; I also have a commitment there since I am an accommodator.” 

“And because you don’t want to leave your boyfriend.” Kerillia chimed in, appearing in the doorway with a sly grin, but instead of the flustered blush that she would usually get from teasing her older sibling, Aqua grinned right back and grabbed Kanda’s hand, pulling him down to plant a short kiss on his lips, surprising him just the slightest. 

“Nope.”

“I don’t approve.” Kaven snapped, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the samurai. Chance and Covak stared down their younger brother until he finally broke up his staring contest with the exorcist to snap at them.

“What?!” 

“You never approve of anything. Shut up.” The said in sync, causing the crimson eyed male to flush in embarrassment before he began to yell at the two. The others simply ignored them, turning back to Aqua and making their way back inside. 

“What about Lyric? She’s going to be upset when she finds out.” 

“I know; I’ll leave a letter for her before we leave. Which we’ll probably do soon.” Aqua answered, glancing at Kanda for confirmation.

“The sooner we get back the better.”

“I thought so, I think tonight would be our best bet of getting away without a scene.” 

“So soon?” Kerillia asked, voicing her sadness at the predicament. 

“It’s not like I’ll be gone forever, being an exorcist means lots of travel, I’ll be back to visit in no time.” She comforted her sibling, smiling gently. “We’ll see each other again sooner than you think.” 

“Alright, but don’t be surprised if we show up sooner than you think.” The younger woman grinned, looking absolutely mischievous. Aqua sighed and shook her head with a light smile, entering the grand hall where everyone was gathered, covered in bandages or being healed by the youngest.

Overlooking the whole room, the Mirastar sat shining brightly, thrumming with power. Stopping at the entryway with Kanda at her side, Aqua watched her brothers and sisters interact, joking and teasing with each other. An arm wrapped itself around her waist and she found herself leaning back into Kanda’s firm chest, closing her eyes at the comfort of the warmth at her back. 

“We got lucky you know.” She spoke after a few minutes, voice soft as Kanda hummed in question. “We’ve been trained to use our weapons, but no of us had ever been in a real combat situation before the invasion. The skills were there, but the instinct of battle was never honed in a lot of us.”

“It’s a good think strategy and luck make up half the battle then.” Aqua could feel the smile on his lips as he brushed her shoulder, his hair falling over her shoulder. They stood there, wrapped up in each other, for a few more minutes before heading back to the room they had first spent the night in. They slept for a few hours, waking just as the light began to dim to signal the falling dusk to prepare for their journey back to the Order. 

Standing outside with the light of a spell throwing shadows over the doors and pillars, Aqua smiled, taking Kanda’s hand in hers as the waters slowly returned to where it was supposed to be, save for the bubble that surrounded the couple. Spotting the unruly main of brown hair that belonged to her twin, Aqua grinned, feeling a tingle rush up her spine as her eyes were forced shut. When she opened them, they stood on the moonlit sands of San Cibrao. Kanda looked around, hiding his confusion as he looked to the woman next to him who shrugged.

“Ash was the only one of us to master teleportation spells.” She said, answering the silent question. 

“C’mon, I want to see Komui’s face when I walk through the gates.”


	37. Chapter 37

For what seemed like the hundredth time in five minutes, Kanda sighed. They’d only been gone a day and Aqua had insisted they stop to get her food, she was after all a parasite-type, and some decent clothes so that she wasn’t in armor. 

“You sound like you’ve just endured an entire hour of Kaven’s ranting.” Looking forward, the samurai felt his eyes widen slightly at what the blue haired woman was wearing. 

“What?” She questioned, breaking him from his daze. 

“Nothing, let’s go, the train should be here any minute.” He turned, brushing a hand over his coat, glancing down at the all too familiar crest on the chest. Aqua’s slim arm slid around his own as she matched his pace until they reached the station, sitting on a bench to wait for the train that would take them closer to the Black Order. 

An hour into the train ride, Aqua stood up, dusting off her skirt.

“I’m going to see if they’ve got any food on this thing.” Getting a small nod from the other exorcist, she exited the car. She wandered the cars for a while, finding nothing. She reached a door and turned around, only to have someone bump into her, tripping her. The door behind her opened and the man that opened it caught her under the arms before she could hit the floor.

“Well well, I’ve never had a woman literally fall for me before.” He grinned, a cigarette between his teeth and eyes obscured by think glasses and unruly curly black hair. Finding her footing again, Aqua stood up, turning with an embarrassed grin.

“Sorry about that.”

“Not a problem, miss. Say, what’s a pretty thing like you doing around this part of the train?” 

“Well, uh, I was just wandering. It’s been hectic for me these past few days; I’m not used to the peace and normalcy just yet. Couldn’t sit still.” She lied smoothly, unwilling to admit that her insatiable hunger had her in pursuit of food. The man chuckled and nodded.

“Must have been interesting. Say, would you care to join me in a game of cards, my friends and I were looking for a new player.” 

“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline, I’m not one for cards and my boyfriend will be wondering where I’ve been.” 

“Aw, what a shame, alright then, maybe we’ll cross path’s again.”

“Maybe.” With a small smile, Aqua turned and walked back, looking back only once to see that the stranger was still staring at her. Snapping back around, she hurried back to the car, letting out a relieved sigh when the door was firmly closed behind her. Taking a seat, she found Kanda asleep, his head resting against the window and Mugen leaning on his shoulder. 

With a soft smile playing on her lips, Aqua leaned on the side, staring out the window until she too fell asleep, not waking until something shook her shoulder gently and her blue eyes fluttered open. Helping her too her feet, Kanda looped an arm around her waist and guided her off the train, unaware of the gaze following him and Aqua until the couple disappeared around a corner. 

Fully awake, Aqua and Kanda stood looking up at the familiar cliff that lead up to the Black Order. 

“You know… I climbed this the first time I came here, it wasn’t very fun.” The woman muttered to herself.

“You were wearing a skirt.” He said in reply, getting a surprised look in return.

“You remember what I was wearing the first time we met?”

“It was hard not to, I’ve never seen a girl wear what you were wearing.”

“Well…I don’t know if I should be flattered or horrified.” 

“Let’s go.” Kanda insisted, smirking in amusement as they made their way towards the hidden entrance that lead to the canal and then the elevator. Brushed back a strand of her blue locks, Aqua followed close behind Kanda, looking around as they entered the dark tunnel and walked up a flight of stairs, appearing in the lounge. Strangely enough, there didn’t seem to be anybody around even though it was the middle of the afternoon, no finders wandering the halls, no scientists moving around with giant stacks of paper. 

Heading up the elevator, they stepped out on the floor of the science division where they finally saw why things were so quiet, they were all asleep, slumped over desks and papers alike. Kanda clicked his tongue in annoyance as they moved through the room, heading into Komui’s office. Like the others, the Chief was fast asleep under a stack of books and folders spilling papers onto the already covered floor. 

“Hey, Komui.” Aqua shook the man’s shoulder firmly but got nothing in response.

“Let me, this fool could sleep for a century.” The dark haired exorcists grumbled, gently moving the woman to the side  
“Lenalee’s getting married.” 

“LENALEE HOW COULD YOU?!?!” The purple haired man jumped up, startling Aqua as Kanda whacked the man over the head with a sheathed Mugen. Komui flinched, rubbing his head until he noticed the two people standing in front of him.

“Kanda!! You’re alive! And who’s this?” He inquired, adjusting his glasses and leaning rather close to the female who stared back uncomfortably.   
“It’s me Chief, Aqua.” She replied, taking a step back. 

“Aqua!? Allen and Lenalee said you were dead!!” He grasped her shoulders, looking her over for injuries and such.

“I know, I had my sister modify their memories, it should go back to normal when they see me. I’m sorry for the trouble I caused, but I had something extremely important to take care of.” She explained, brushing off the older man’s concern. Komui looked like he had a dozen questions, but a loud rumbling sound interrupted before he could ask and Aqua’s face lit up in embarrassment as Kanda rolled his eyes. 

“Lenalee and Allen should be down in the cafeteria too, go and get something to eat, we can talk later.” With a nod, the woman exited the office, followed closely by Kanda, who Komui noted stood rather close to the young woman. The couple moved past the still slumbering scientists and down the halls, hand in hand until they reached the large wood doors leading into the loud room beyond. 

“I feel like we’re about to start a riot.” Aqua muttered to herself, brushing a hand through her hair as Kanda smirked down at her.

“You can take on a sea serpent, but you’re afraid of a crowd of people?”

“Well, if that crowd of people were angry or something, I’d be a little afraid, but it’s not the same thing, besides, sea serpents are usually smaller than the one we fought and are total sweethearts.” 

“I’m sure they are.” He said, rolling his eyes before pushing open the doors and pulled her in with him.


	38. Chapter 38

The room feel into silence as the massive door hit the wall and all eyes turned to the couple that had entered. Allen and Lenalee, who had been sitting and talking, felt a jolt as their memories righted themselves at the sight of the blue haired girl. They were on their feet in seconds, tackling the woman to the ground whilst yelling various, intelligible things at her. 

Cringing from the sudden impact of her back against the floor, Aqua glared up at a smirking Kanda.

“Guy…guys you’re crushing me…can’t breathe.” Jumping off her, the two helped her back into her feet.

“So what happened?” Lenalee half demanded, leading the pair over to a table where they sat, Kanda looking slightly uncomfortable as he took a seat next to Aqua.

“Well, lots of things happened, but I fixed it, so there’s nothing to worry about now.” The younger woman frowned, not satisfied in the least with the answer she received. Allen moved to speak, but a loud ‘STRIKE!!!’ was yelled from the doorway. Aqua looked up just in time to watch Mugen’s sheathe connect with Lavi’s forehead, sending the excited redhead into the floor. Cringing at the impact, the bluenette sighed.

“Lavi, are you alright?”

“Aqua? Is that you…?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“Am I dead?”

“No, but Kanda hit you pretty hard.”

“Oh…” With that the redhead fainted, slumping completely to the floor where an old man, that slightly resembled a panda, dragged him away. Turning back to the conversation they had been having, Lenalee finally spoke up.

“So, are you going to stay?”

“Until my next mission, which probably isn’t going to be for a while considering everything that’s come of my first, but I don’t have any intention of disappearing if that’s what you mean.”

“Well that’s good at least, we were really worried when we heard that Road had kidnapped you like that.” Allen commented, taking a bit from the stick of dango in his hand. 

“Yeah… Pardon my French but that girl was a sadistic little b*tch.” The woman deadpanned, getting a spit-take from the violet eyes girl across from her. 

“Aqua!!” Lenalee shouted in reprimand as Kanda smirked and the offending woman shrugged innocently. 

“What? I’m not wrong.”

“You didn’t have to say it like that though!” Before she could defend herself, Aqua was pulled up from her seat by the man next to her, who gave no explanation as he led her to the window where the cook, Jerry, stood with a wide smile on his face at the sight of the couple hand-in-hand.

“Kanda~! It’s been a while since I last saw you, I’ll have you’re soba up in just a minute, but who is this lovely lady on your arm~? Hmmm~?” Aqua smiled at the man, giving a polite, small bow.

“My name’s Aquarius Merida or Aqua for short, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh my~! This one’s got might fine manners just like Allen~! I’m Jerry, I’ll make you anything you want sweetheart~.” Kanda sighed once more as the woman beside him grinned widely and a good fifteen minutes later was sitting with a tray of soba in front of him, trying to ignore the blue haired girl scarfing food like it was her last meal beside him. 

With a dull ‘thunk’, Aqua tossed back the last of her peach tea and let out a very content sigh just as the man next to her set down his chopsticks, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

“Finished?”

“Probably.”

“‘Probably’?” He arched a brow as she shrugged lightly.

“The temptation of getting more is strong.” The female answered off-handedly, smiling slightly when she finally met his gaze even when he shook his head slowly.

“Let’s go finish talking to Komui so that we can rest. He’ll have us back out on missions before you know it.” With a nod, the couple left the cafeteria. The hallway was silent, the only sounds being their footsteps on the floor and the brushing of clothing. Aqua fell into her mind, thinking over the last few weeks and everything that had happened. She’d met many people, made friends and even enemies; a shudder ran up her spine at the recollection of the gold eyed king that had almost taken advantage of her while she was unconscious. 

Kanda glanced down when the petite hand holding his tightened slightly and he squeezed ever so slightly, breaking the blue haired woman from her thoughts. 

“What’s on your mind?” He asked, slowing to a stop at the end of the corridor.

“Nothing; just remembering. These past few weeks happened fast, it’s hard to process it all, you know?” He was unconvinced by the small smile she gave him, it was meant to be reassuring, but he saw that it didn’t reach her eyes. He stared down at her for a few seconds, a rather impassive look on his face, but the stubborn woman just stared right back, unwilling to share her troubles just yet. A minute passed before Kanda sighed and glanced away from a second before reaching out and slipping an arm around Aqua’s waist, drawing her into a close kiss. 

The woman smiled into the kiss and embrace, understanding that it was Yu’s wordless way of expressing his concern and also reassure her that he was by her side and would stay there as long as she needed him.

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own D. Gray-Man or any other anime/fandoms that appear in this story. Please let me know what you think! ^.^ Thanks!


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